The humanoid robot scene in Japan

Abstract

Since the advent of Honda’s ASIMO and Sony’s AIBO, robot fever has broken out in the general public of Japan. However no significant business has yet materialized, except in the pet robot business in the toy industry. On the other hand serious basic research for humanoid robots is going on which may have an impact on the future of robotics. This report describes the current status of Japanese humanoid fever and its reality.