Society

Japan's robotics market sees boom amid pandemic

Jul 11 (Japan Times) - Japan’s robotics market is booming thanks to the need to avoid in-person contact amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Demand for robotics was led by manufacturers before the pandemic, but customers have been increasing among service businesses such as logistics and medical firms.

The surge in robotics demand has led to a boost in manufacturers’ investment in advanced technologies such as image processing and artificial intelligence to achieve remote control services.

The robotics market is expected to grow from around ¥1 trillion in 2010 to some ¥10 trillion in 2035, according to an estimate by the industry ministry.

In particular, demand from the service sector is likely to grow over 13-fold, overtaking that for factory automation equipment.

In May, Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd. and Sony Group Corp. said they would set up a joint company to develop remote robot control technology.

The tie-up will utilize Kawasaki Heavy’s expertise in industrial robots and Sony’s sensor and image processing technology.

Hitachi Ltd. in April acquired Kyoto Robotics, an intelligent robotics startup. It plans to utilize the startup’s artificial intelligence and 3-D recognition technologies to automate warehouse work.

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