Dec 022015
 

iREX 2015 PRIMER.Anthrobotic.plate

2015 marks the 21st installment of Japan’s biennial iREX robotics tradeshow, which is the world’s largest – and since it’s larger than ever, it’s basically the largest robotics event in history, yo.

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[So, AkihabaraNews.com is kinda the source here in that some of this info is drawn from there, but Anthrobotic doesn’t have to give them too much props and can blatantly plagiarize because the dork running that big green Japanese tird into the ground is the same dork who captains the Anthrobotic pirate ship in retarded circles. I do what I want.]

Okay, ALL the robots is an overstatement…but just barely.

This morning (December 2) at 10:AM, the Japan Robot Association (JARA) and Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun opened the doors to iREX 2015 – the largest and most comprehensive robotics tradeshow on planet earth.

Deets:

  • What: International Robot Exhibition 2015
  • Organizers: Japan Robot Association (JARA); Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun
  • When: Wednesday, December 2nd to Saturday, December 5th
  • Hours: 10:AM – 5:PM Daily
  • Where: Tokyo Big Sight Convention Center; East Hall
  • Entrance Fee: ¥1,000 (~$8); free to those under 16
  • Event Website: English here; Japanese, Chinese, and Korean also available

Largest Robotics Tradeshow…Ever?

iREX 2013 was profoundly impressive with 1,266 booth spaces presented by a healthy, international array of 336 robotics companies, related academic institutions, and governmental organizations. The event was attended by 103,804 individuals.

iREX 2015, however, is a considerable level-up: this year’s show boasts a 33% jump in the number of professional participants (446) and a massive 48% increase in booth space (1,882). At the risk of overstating the point, once again we’ll remind you that a robotics event of this size and scope is wholly unprecedented (click the image below to browse the full-res PDF map of this year’s floorplan).

iREX 2015 HALL MAP

The East Hall is 26,000m² – for Yanks, that’s 5+ football fields filled with robots!

iREX 2015: ‘Making a Future with Robot’

Mirroring industry trends and patterns, this year’s event will prominently feature industrial, service and assistive, and disaster response robotics (for the latter, at least two of the Japanese humanoids that participated in this year’s DARPA Robotics Challenge will be on display). A number of specialty presentations, lectures, and forums will also be held throughout the 4-day event.

Sure, there’s an “s” missing in the event’s theme, but it’s an insignificant fault in the highly effective and impactful work JARA and Nikkan Kogyo do to promote robotics industries, education, and general awareness. The event is welcoming to all ages and virtually guaranteed to inspire the entire spectrum of attendees from wide-eyed children to geeky journalists to cutting-edge industry players and even the stodgiest of academics.

It’s awesome. Go if you can. Or come back here where there shall be more coverage. And in the meantime, we appropriated some stuff from two years ago for your viewing/looking pleasure.

Pilfered iREX Multimedia from 2013:

NACHI.1

iREX.ROBOTS.56

iREX.ROBOTS.54

iREX.ROBOTS.14

iREX.ROBOTS.22

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Kinda the Source: AkihabaraNews.com

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Anthrobotic is an Amazon.com Associate. Anytime, any product, click through! Costs the same. Amazon gets your business. Anthrobotic gets a digital high-five. Win³.

And hey, maybe you should buy a dorky t-shirt.

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