Japan Robot Week 2016 went very well. The 3-day event drew 30,000 humans – nearly double the 2014 attendance. Therefrom, here is a handful of superbly mediocre photos of robots and robot stuff.
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Pretty Big Little Brother
So, JSYK, Japan Robot Week, which was held October 19-21, is the biennial alternate to iREX (the International Robot Exhibition), which, every time it’s held, retakes from itself the record for largest robotics event in human history. Yeah, iREX is badass, but the vastly smaller, more intimate Japan Robot Week has its own particular specialness.
Foremostly, JRW is a much more domestic affair, though it does attract some international flavor (Danish firm Universal Robots had a great booth this year and Amy Robotics from China was also in the house). Palpably, the event’s smaller scope somehow makes for a less formal, friendlier atmosphere. Relative to iREX and other gigantic expos, presenters and owners and staff at JRW seem more accessible and eager to interact with both civilians and the press (some English is spoken, but it really helps if you hablo le Japonais).
Anywho, it’s a robodorky good time. You should go. In 2018. First you should go to iREX 2017. Biennials, y’all.
As a refresher, below are the official deets, and below them you’ll find an inline gallery of 18 images taken by someone who does know how to work a camera…but only just.
From the JRW 2016 Organizers:
“In 2015, the Japanese government announced “Japan’s Robot Strategy,” designating the subsequent five years as a term for dedicated focus on robotics innovation. Leading up to 2020, the government pledged to invest approximately 100 billion JPY (~$990,000,000 USD) in robotics-related projects, aiming to expand the service robot market to 1.4 trillion JPY (~$13.8 billion USD) – about 20 times today’s market value.
Japan Robot Week, held in biennial alternation with the International Robot Exhibition (iREX), focuses primarily on service robotics, including various related technologies and components.
In a broad effort to stimulate business negotiations, industry cooperation, and technology exchange, this year’s event features The 7th Robot Award ceremony and exhibition, joint exhibitions from universities and laboratories, and other fascinating programs related to service robots.
We are looking forward to seeing all of you at Japan Robot Week 2016.“
Inline Gallery:
[Click images for full-size, and feel free to share – but, as always, if you crop out the watermark or misattribute or provide no attribution at all, one of these robots will be sent to peel off your skin and wear it in front of you while you’re still alive. For questions about a particular robot or machine, leave a comment and you’ll get some deets.]
[The two images below are Kowa Tech’s ActiveRobo SAM, which is both awesome and terribly difficult to photograph. Read this to get the 411:Robots are the New Mexicans and ActiveRobo SAM is Japan’s Newest Mexican]
Thanks for looking!
Look at this gallery, too. It’s from iREX 2015:
And if video is your thing, here’s this, also from iREX 2015:
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There are robots on some of these t-shirts go buy one KTHX.
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