Remote-controlled Robots, Revolutionizing the Way We Work

Working remotely is now generally accepted.

But you may be thinking, "Isn't that something only office workers can do?"

Well then, take this man.

Using VR goggles and a controller, he's begun...

working at a convenience store!

By controlling the robot remotely, he can do his job anywhere.

Or, take this heavy machinery.

If you look closely...

no one is on board!

This massive machine is being operated from a work place located some distance away.

Working with heavy machinery can be very taxing on the body.

Remote operation is expected to drastically change work environments.

I want to change how people participate in the workforce
in a completely different way.

Otherwise, our work won't have any impact.

So, safe and comfortable remote work is not just for office workers.

Today, we'll take a closer look at the forefront of remote-controlled robots, which have the potential to drastically change the way we work.

Welcome to Science View, where we cover the latest advances in Japanese science and technology.

I'm your host, Tomoko Tina Kimura.

Today's topic is "Remote Robots."

Robot development has typically focused on "automated robots" that perform specific tasks in a fixed environment.

But today we'll be talking about "remote robots" that are operated remotely by humans.

Joining me is Mr. David Hajime Kornhauser, Director of Kyoto University's Office of Global Communications.

It's nice to see you, Mr. Kornhauser.

Thanks so much for having me.

Working robots sounds like science fiction, but in a way, all kinds of robots are already working around us.

Yes, that's right.

When it comes to robots working in place of people, industrial robots typically come to mind.

Yes, industrial robots are definitely a part of our society.

They work in so many fields such as automobile factories and logistics facilities.

You may have also seen robots patrolling airports in place of security guards.

These automated robots, as well as robots that are operated remotely by people, are attracting a lot of attention.

Let's take a look at the latest remotely-operated robots and what they can do.

Remote-controlled robots have been attracting much attention lately.

This venture is developing a robot that can work in space.

If humans ever decide to build a lunar base or live on Mars, they'll need a labor force to handle construction.

Only humans can handle dexterous work in space now, But human labor is extremely inefficient in space,
costing 5 to 15 million yen per hour.

Robots are cheaper and safer than humans.

So eventually we could reduce the cost of work in space
to one hundredth of that.

Along with automated robots, this venture is focusing on the development of robots that can be remotely operated from Earth.

Being able to handle various tasks on the base by operating robots from Earth would reduce the number of people we send into space.

Remote-controlled robots also have some advantages over automated robots.

Take this, for example.

The mission is to use a drill to dig somewhere on the moon surface.

The work itself could be done autonomously,
but you'd have to build something into the robot.

You'd need to prepare a program for the task.

But with remote control, you can just decide,
"Let's break up some rocks," and it's done.

That's right.

The advantage of remote-controlled robots is that they don't need to be programmed.

The operator can make decisions on the spot and handle work flexibly.

The key to highly accurate remote operation is the cameras used for vision.

If high resolution images are taken
with both the left and right eyes, difficult tasks can be done with great dexterity

since the images give the operator
a sense of perspective and detail.

The ability to see in three dimensions, like the human eye, allows the operator to get a sense of distance and accurately aim the tool at the target object.

Nakanishi also believes that this robot could work not only on the Moon, but also on Mars, where remote control from Earth is difficult.

If a person could take such a robot
on a mission to Mars, they could do some very dexterous work
by remote control from a module on Mars.

While automation is certainly important in space, there will be times when piloting is also valuable,

and we recognize that as a strength.

So remotely-controlled robots could be ideal for places like the Moon and Mars, where work cannot easily be automated and a flexible response is vital.

Many want to expand space development, but sending people into space is still costly and difficult.

Humans need food and other supplies, not to mention an environment where they can breathe air.

That's very true.

Yet with robots, those are no longer issues, making for significant cost savings.

Robots would be safer, too.

Space is dangerous for people, after all.

Furthermore, as remote control advances, it's expected that robots could be used for remote work too.

That means working remotely could now be realized in a variety of fields besides the office environment.

This technology could really change our lives.

Now, let's see a real-life example of remote work being performed by a remote robot.

Here in the back of a convenience store in Tokyo's Minato Ward, a remote-controlled robot has been working since 2020 to stock products.

Jin Tomioka heads the company that developed this robot.

What prompted its development was the labor shortage in the retail industry.

There are about 57,000 convenience stores in Japan,
and all of them are facing a shortage.

There's almost no solution for that right now.

The idea was to try to solve the current problems
in convenience and other retail stores.

The robot is operated in an office located in the same building as the convenience store.

The operator dons goggles and holds controllers in both hands.

Video from the robot's camera is transmitted to the goggles.

While watching the live feed, the operator can remotely direct the robot to grab products and put them on the shelves.

The goggles and controllers are equipped with sensors that calculate the positions of the head and body, and instantly transmit the human's movements to the robot.

The movements of the robot and the person
are all synchronized.

If you see something you want to grab,
you can have the robot move it.

You approach the object and when you want to grab it,
you press this button.

That's it.

The operation is simple, but one of the challenges faced during the development stage was the variety of product shapes to be handled.

A typical convenience store could have
roughly 4,000 different products.

If you convert them into shape patterns,
there are roughly 200-300 different patterns.

So here's the solution that Tomioka and his team developed!

A special robot hand.

The hand is equipped with a mechanism called a gripper, which resembles a human hand.

It can even grasp the film part of this package, so as not to squash the sandwich inside!

Then, suddenly, a transformation!

A vacuum suction device appears.

This device is used to lift lunch boxes that cannot be handled by the gripper.

This is an impressive picking operation.

And look at the robot's left arm!

It's designed to pick up two plastic bottles by vacuum suction for efficient transportation.

Both the left and right robot hands are equipped with multiple mechanisms that allow them to handle a variety of products.

With multiple robots like this, one person could handle the stocking of multiple stores.

This might help solve the labor shortage in the convenience store industry.

Well, it's quite impressive that the robot hands can pick up and handle objects of various shapes without damaging them.

Yes, exactly. Even humans hands can sometimes crush things like sandwiches, right?

Yes, that is true.

It's hard to tell from the video but the refrigerators in convenience stores are very cold.

Imagine spending up to an hour in there!

Part of the reason for the labor shortage is physically demanding work.

Saving staff from the more unpleasant tasks will make it easier to retain them, and the store will run more smoothly.

Using remote-robots is also about creating a better working environment.

Not just efficiency and cost reduction.

Now, another industry where remote-robots can improve the working environment is the construction industry.

Their approach is completely different from what we have seen so far.

The keyword here is retrofitting!

This is a waste recycling center in Fukuoka Prefecture.

Here they recycle thinnings, food waste, and other materials to make compost.

Heavy machinery is indispensable for raking up large amounts of branches or leaves, as well as carrying heavy wood.

However, operating heavy machinery can be tiring due to the intense vibrations.

Dust and noise during the operation also puts a lot of strain on workers' bodies.

These kinds of environments are not very good, so operating the equipment remotely,
would help improve the work environment.

Heavy equipment is also hard on the back, so remote operation will reduce the
physical burden on the employees.

Engineer Reyes Tatsuru Shiroku is developing a system to improve the physically demanding work environment.

Shiroku is now on his third venture.

He's already been involved in the development of exoskeleton robot suits, and he also created a venture to develop an automatic driving system in the United States.

Building remote-controlled heavy machinery from the ground up requires a huge amount of time and capital.

Shiroku has come up with a novel method that can dramatically reduce cost and deliver the product in just a few days.

It contains the base for controlling the motor
and the emergency stop switch.

Shiroku's idea involves retrofitting existing heavy machinery with a remote device, so it can be controlled via the Internet.

These are the joysticks used to operate the heavy machinery.

Specially developed parts are installed here.

The black part is the motor.

This motor then manipulates the joysticks.

Then, the retrofit work is completed by attaching cameras around the heavy equipment and on the operator's seat.

It's a very simple system.

The operator controls the machinery while watching the images from the three installed cameras.

Now it's time to check the operation.

For now, a person takes control and moves over to the test site.

The heavy machinery is being controlled in an office about 100 meters away.

This is the operator's seat.

Multiple large monitors are arranged.

Yes, you could connect to this from home too.

You could operate it from anywhere in Japan.

This is the first time for remote control.

The operator carefully moves the heavy equipment.

His colleagues are also very interested.

The power knob is already at high engine speed, so when the joystick is at 70%,
just make small movements.

After a few minutes of practice, the operator got used to it, even though not being able to hear the engine sound was a challenge.

Incredibly, he was able to crush up the wood remotely.

The construction industry is chronically short of labor.

If remote control can improve the working environment, it should make it easier to secure human resources.

Perhaps, in the near future, remote control may become the standard for operating heavy machinery.

Given the labor shortage and the dangerous work involved, I can see why this technology would be so appealing.

What are the issues we need to consider, though?

Well, in fact, over 300 people lose their lives every year in Japan's construction industry.

That's about one-third of all annual work-related fatalities.

Yes, that is a lot!

That's why ensuring safety, is extremely important, especially if remote-robots are to become more widespread in our society.

In the retrofitted machinery we saw earlier, there are four 4 methods of shutting it down in an emergency.

Even if one of them fails, the others will still be operable. That's how the system ensures safety.

For example, although control is usually done via the Internet, if an emergency occurs, a shutdown command can be sent via a radio transceiver that is independent of computer control.

I see.

Well, as we gain more and more experience with these new systems, safety and convenience should improve.

They certainly have potential to help people and greatly improve working environments.

Coming up next, we'll turn to a different sort of device called "power assist suit."

This is a device that is worn on a person's body to support their movement and physical abilities.

One such suit gaining popularity was developed by a venture company launched at a Japanese university.

It's worn like a back-pack.

Then you tighten the belt, put on the leg pads, and inflate it.

This is the "power assist suit" that's attracting attention right now.

It was developed by today's Takumi, Doctor Hiroshi Kobayashi.

While conducting research at the university, Kobayashi started a venture company and has been working on the practical application of his power assist suit.

Kobayashi's suit is designed to assist the movement of the lower back.

It's called the "Muscle Suit."

But how effective is it?

You won't know if you don't try it,
so why not give it a go?

The director of this program will be the person to try it!

This is a 25-kilogram weight to lift.

It's now 25 kilograms.

Ok, please have a go.

First, she'll try lifting the weight without the suit.

I can't lift it.

I can't lift it at all.

Now, she puts on the muscle suit and tries to lift it again.

She puts it on like a back-pack.

Then puts on the "thigh pads," inflates it about 30 times, and it's ready.

And sure enough...

she could lift it up!

I lifted it up all the way. That's great!

Using the muscle suit, she was able to lift the weight, with less strain on the lower back.

When lifting something, the suit provides about 25 kilograms of assistive force.

It feels as if the burden on the lower back has been reduced by about one-third.

The secret of its power is the pneumatic artificial muscles attached to the back.

When compressed air is put into the muscle, it contracts powerfully.

This produces a maximum of 250 kg of force.

It's light, but it's also very powerful.

Pneumatic artificial muscles consist of a rubber tube wrapped in a nylon mesh.

When air pressure is applied to the rubber tube, it inflates inside the constraining mesh, which causes the artificial muscle to expand in diameter and contract in length.

The pneumatic artificial muscles in the back pull on wires connecting to the thigh pads.

This generates a force that assists the movement of the lower back.

Most power assist suits use electric motors, but Kobayashi decided to rely on air pressure to power artificial muscles.

It's light, but also powerful.

When making something, it's important to
consider its purpose and how to make it work.

That's why I chose to use artificial muscles.

Instead of a motor.

Kobayashi's muscle suits, which are easy to use and inexpensive, are currently being used to protect the lower backs of people in agriculture, nursing care, and manufacturing.

He is also expanding overseas.

Kobayashi started to develop a muscle suit that would be useful to people.

Based on feedback from potential users, he focused on developing a suit to support the lower back.

However, development was a continuous process of trial and error.

This one was made at the beginning of development.

However, there was a problem with the mechanism.

It has a single axis, so if the body moves in certain ways,
the suit will shift.

It moves upwards in relation to the body.
This part here.

When you lean forward, the distance from your hips to your shoulders increases a little.

The muscle suit is fixed to the body with a shoulder belt, so in this case the waist belt was sliding up.

To solve this problem, Kobayashi focused on the rotational axis that connects the back and thigh frames.

After repeated testing, he was able to accommodate the stretching of the back by attaching a rotational axis at two points: the head of the femur and the lower part of the spine.

Kobayashi has been developing the power assist suit for 20 years.

He's motivated by what he heard from potential users.

I was able to keep going because
its intended users told me it was necessary even if it was still under development.

In the seven years prior to launching the product, feedback from those in the manufacturing and nursing fields led to improvements every year.

I could develop it with the help of the people
who were really going to use it.

I use "marriage" as a metaphor,
because you can't do it by yourself.

You have to work together for it to be successful.

Kobayashi's research continues, as he aims to create a suit that is even more useful in real life situations.

Other companies have developed power assist suits in the past, but what makes Kobayashi's efforts stand out is the fact that it doesn't run on electricity.

Yes, and that makes it much cheaper and easier to use.

Kobayashi says his goal is to one day develop a device that can help even bedridden people live independently as much as possible.

And that's all for this week's Science View.

Thank you very much for joining us and please stay tuned again for our next episode.