amazing mission.

Developed by Robo Garage, Toyota and JAXA and launched to the International Space Station

on August 4, 2013, Kirobo will assist Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata in various experiments

and test the ability of man and machine to get along and work together... in space!

Kirobo is equipped with a whole slew of high-tech features including: voice and speech recognition,

natural language processing, speech synthesis and telecommunications, as well as facial

recognition and video recording.

Kirobo is also designed to navigate zero gravity environments and with this cute little guy

orbiting 330km above our heads, we are one step closer to the inevitable robot apocalypse.

Japan has a long standing obsession with robots and they come in all shapes and sizes. From

Astro Boy to Doraemon to Gundam, robots represent a very deep and complex set of ideas and are

often used to explore, paradoxically, what it means to be human.

In the Astro Boy comic the nuclear powered robot created by Dr. Tenma of the Ministry

of Science was created as a replacement for his dead son but is later rejected by his

creator when Astro Boy is unable to fill the void left by his human child. Deep, huh?

But why does Japan employ more robotic workers than any other nation and see robots as one

of the ways in which they can tackle the economic problems brought on by low birth rates and

a greying society?

Many point to the animist elements of the Shinto religion and their contrast to many

Western religions' views on the creation of life by humans. Animism is the idea that every

object that exists has a spirit attached to it and isn't necessarily going to wreak havoc

on you or the world at large if given the opportunity.

In contrast, Western religion imparts the notion that the creation of life ultimately

leads to the destruction of the creator. Robots equal created life, created life equals bad.

It's a good thing that robots in Japan are given quite a warm welcome as they're probably

going to continue popping up quite often in the years to come.

The Japanese government is funding projects that aim to develop low cost robots that can

be used in nursing homes to assist the elderly and take some of the burden off their human

counterparts.

The coolest among the subsidized designs is "a motorized robot suit that can assist in

lifting or moving elderly and otherwise impaired patients so that caretakers do not need to

exert as much physical strength." Think power loader exo-suit from the movie Aliens.

The most well known among Japanese robots is probably the Advanced Step in Innovative

MObility robot being developed by Honda. ASIMO's resume is impressive and shows about where

we stand in terms of the progress of modern robotics.

ASIMO has the ability to recognize moving objects, postures, gestures, its surrounding

environment, sounds and faces. Furthermore, ASIMO can detect the movement of multiple

objects and determine distance and direction using its stereoscopic vision.

ASIMO can also interpret voice commands and human gestures which allow it to distinguish

between an arm offered for a handshake or when a person waves or points at something.

Additionally, ASIMO is also able to recognize its name and respond to and recognize the

faces of multiple people in conversation; up to ten actually.

In short, ASIMO has social graces more human than many of the humans I know and he just

keeps getting better. From the first experimental model in 1986 to the 130cm tall version of

ASIMO making public appearances at movie premiers, Disney attractions and symphony halls, our

little friend doesn't seem to be slowing down.

Whether they freak you out or inspire warm feelings of companionship, robots are among

us and our relationship with them is going to be constantly evolving.

What are prohibitively expensive novelties in the year 2013 are going to be, with quite

a bit of development, highly integral components of our future lives. Look forward to it!

Thanks for watching this episode of The Japan Show, if you have any questions or want to

tell us about some other cool robots, be sure to leave a comment below, and if you want

to see more episodes like this one, head over to youtube.com/watchthejapanshow and subscribe!