During the recent 2009 International Robot Exhibition, robotics developer

Denso Wave displayed a flexible artificial hand with movements so

dexterous it could handle food without crushing it or leaving crumbs (Robochefs and fashion bots, 2009, para. 5-6). Developed as a machine that
might one day assist the elderly or sick (Robo-chefs and fashion bots,
2009, para. 7), Densos H-type arm is just one in a long line of
technological innovations from Japan with a futuristic robot flair. Another
exhibit on display was Tokyo Universitys muscle suit, a harness-like
machine intended to not only reduce hard physical labor for factory workers
but also serve as an assistant to the disabled and the aged (Muscle suit,
2009, para. 3). And medical advancement through robotics does not end
there.
Rather, there is a penchant amongst Japanese to take a medicinal problem
and come up with decidedly mechanized solution, oftentimes with a cute
face or brightly colored body, as exemplified by the green-and-white
receptionists first introduced to Japanese hospitals in 2006 (Receptionist
and porter robots, 2006, para. 3). In fact, there have been so many robotic
and technologically quirky medical and health-related inventions streaming
from Japan in recent years, that a Western notionwhere robots have
always been viewed in a more sinister light (Hornyak, 2006, p. 25)of
treatment and medicinal care might lead many to wonder just what lies
behind Japans desire to create friendly-faced, fantasy-futuristic, and
sometimes simply peculiar medical marvels and innovations, and what has
led to the countrys easy acceptance towards what the rest of the world still
generally shunts to the side for practical purpose alone.
Of the recent Japanese automated wonders invented for the aide and
betterment of the sick, elderly, and humanity as a whole, three distinct
types have emerged. There are the mechanical limbs and suits that call to
mind famous Japanese cartoons and comics (Gilson, 1998, p. 368) in their
often blocky or notably mechanical appearance; the cute and often furry
robots of varying degrees of size and animism, which appear out of place in
the typical nursing home or hospital, but are actually developed as

assistants (Japanese create teddy bear robot nurse, 2009, para. 1) or as

a form of therapy (Hornyak, 2006, p. 10) similar to the use of real animals
here in the United States; and finally the inventions whose functions range
from another form of assisting the infirm, such as Panasonics transforming
robotic bed (Panasonic develops bed, 2009, para. 1) to preventing
ocular dehydration (New Japanese glasses, 2009, para. 2), as seen in the
Wink Glasses for addicted gamers and avid book-readers, which fog up if
the wearer has gone too long without blinking (New Japanese glasses,
2009, para. 1).
Mechanical suits, assistive limbs, and robot receptionists may be recent to
the medical world, but Japan has had a fondness for robotics dating back
centuries. In the 20th century alone, Japanese robotics stretched from the
majestic, kanji-writing, golden Buddha, dubbed Gakutensoku (Hornyak,
2006, p. 36-37), learning from natural law; to the evolution of Hondas
humanoid ASIMO throughout the 1980s, 1990s, and into the 2000s
(Hornyak, 2006, p. 103). Following Gakutensokus creationthe invention
of Makoto Nishimura, following inspiration from Karel apeks R.U.R., or
Rossums Universal Robots (Hornyak, 2006, p. 32)Japan underwent
their first robotic boom (Hornyak, 2006, p. 38), where robotic-obsessed
media and merchandizing eventually coalesced into the creation of some of
Japans most iconic media franchises of all time, including the famed
Osamu Tezukas Mighty Atom (Gilson, 1998, p. 367). Before the craze of
the 1900s, however, Japan had long held a fascination for the small, quirky,
and mechanical, in the form of karakuri, or trick; mechanism; gadget.
(Hornyak, 2006, p. 17).
Before the implementation of a closed-door policy to the rest of the world
under the Tokugawa shogunate (Hornyak, 2006, p. 20), Japan of the 16th
and 17th centuries studied a variety of topics, from geography to
cartography to medicine and physiology (Howe, 1996, p. 35), and carefully
chose and emulated aspects of Western society from around the world, to
the interest and bemusement of foreign merchants, missionaries, and
dignitaries (Westney, 1987, p. 1). Through trade routes came intellectual

contact with China and the West (Howe, 1996, p. 32), and along with this
exchange came the importation of ideas and inventions such as a world
atlas, the printing press (Howe, 1996, p. 32), gun technology, and most
importantly for the future of Japanese robotics, clockmaking (Hornyak,
2006, p. 20). Following either the study of Western clockmaking techniques
by the rengakushuDutch Scholars (Howe, 1996, p. 35)or by
disassembling the parts of a Western clock and figuring out the inner
workings, Japanese clockmakers began to invent an automated wonder
different from the timepieces of their trade: dolls (Hornyak, 2006, p. 16).
The first karakuri dolls to gain popularity were those that performed publicly,
such as those at Takeda Omis Osaka-based doll show (Thornbury, 1992,
p. 184), and those used on floats in Kamisaki Shrines Kamezaki Shichi
Festival (Hornyak, 2006, p. 15). It was not until the introduction of the
room dolls, or zashiki karakuri, that the lineage of Japans robotics began
(Hornyak, 2006, p. 25). These small, head-bobbing mechanisms could
move in the direction they were pointed in, serving tea to guests and
returning to the host once an empty cup had been replaced on the dolls
tray (Hornyak, 2006, p. 21). Other popular mechanical puppets include
legendary inventor Hisashige Tanakas archer, which has the ability to notch
an arrow and aim it at a small, separate target; and a female doll
constructed completely without the use of nails that can write four different
kanji characters, including longevity (Hornyak, 2006, p. 26).
As Japanese robotics progressed into the 20th century, so did their
fascination with them. In the years following the creation of Mighty Atom in
the 1950s, other famous robot-series include Iron Man #28, Doraemon,
and Mazinger Z (Gilson, 1998, p. 368), the last of which serves as the
roots for what would later become the common giant robot imagery now
frequent in animation and comics. Examples of the popularity of the idea of
a large, armor-like suit or vehicle are most prevalent in series like the
massive Gundam franchise (Gilson, 1998, p. 368-69), as well as hugely
successful Neon Genesis Evangelion (Gilson, 1998, p. 69), Full Metal
Panic (Hornyak, 2006, p. 68), and recent shows such as Tengen Toppa

Gurren Lagann and Code Geass. From helpful, round-body blue cats to
gigantic sword-wielding metal suits, Japanese culture is not only infused
with a history of mechanical puppets and kanji-writing Buddha, but a
sprawling pop culture crammed with futuristic invention.
It is thisboth the creation of robots and similar mechanisms historically,
oftentimes as much for the simple artistic pleasure as for any practical
purpose (Hornyak, 2006, p. 25), as well as the overabundance of robots,
both anthropomorphic and otherwisethat has likely given rise to Japans
easy acceptance of various robotic tools, right down to the weird and the
eccentric, even in areas of health and medicine. Where in the United States
a robotic limb may end with a replacement for an amputee, in Japan, the
disabled, infirm, disaster victims and simply overworked are aided by any
number of complex, Gundam like structuresjust look to Cyberdyne
Corporations HAL (Beaumont, 2009, para. 2-3), or Activelinks Power
Loader (Japanese Building Robot, 2009, para. 1). But why stop there?
Additional assistants that do not require strapping someone inside of a
mechanical maze cover everything from motorized, raised seats that can
climb stairs (Hornyak, 2006, p. 77) to the oversized robot nurses with
friendly, teddy-bear faces that research center Riken is actually planning to
integrate into hospitals over the next several years (Japanese create teddy
bear robot nurse, 2009, para. 3) .
While these may sound like strange ways to go about aiding the sick or
otherwise in need of assistance, considering Japans past relationship with
robots, it is not a surprise. Always taking a friendlier, more creative
approach to robotics, viewing them not only for the purpose of creativity
besides practicality, there is also, often, an almost childlike or animal-like
essence given to many Japanese robotswith examples that include
creations such as the diminutive yellow Wakamaru (Brooke, 2004, para. 4),
the fictional Atom of Mighty Atom fame (Gilson, 1998, p. 367), and the
1990s tiny electronic craze that were Tamagotchi (Gilson, 1998, p. 368).
Due to centuries of choosing to enjoy the benefits of robotics rather than
fear a future where too much is controlled by humanitys mechanical

marvels, of creating automated puppets for people to enjoy as much as

use, of creating stories wherein robots are helpful, dependable, and often
quite human-like. In a country where a little Pinocchio-like child (Gilson,
1998, p. 367) is the world-saving hero, perhaps it is not strange that lifesaving techniques and psychological therapy would be conducted via
similar automata. Furthermore, in an aging population with a declining
birthrate, a future full of actual human nurses and assistants for the elderly
is unlikelymeaning wheelchair beds and automated, washing-machine
like (Brooke, 2004, para. 3) Hirb (Brooke, 2004, para. 21) bath units will
become more and more necessary to keep up with demand.
A metal-and-plastic secretary rolls up to direct a visitor through hospital
hallways (Chauhan, 2006, para. 2). Cuddly seal Paro is said to soothe and
educe emotional response from patients (Hornyak, 2006, p. 10). It will likely
not be long before the next Gundam installment, and in the meantime,
people will continue to strap into mechanical legs, arms, and suits that call
to mind the infamous, armored robots of the series. When the use of robots
in health and welfare is not inspiring Japanese to little creations like
Wakamaru, which can be used to watch elderly family members at home
(Brooke, 2004, para. 4), it is creating artificial hands, the WABIANanother
means of mobility for the aged and unwell (Hornyak, 2006, p. 77)and
wireless healthcare (Dolan, 2009, para. 3). Japanese medical inventions
are innovative, unusual, decidedly robotic, and frequently more than a little
strangebut when looking back at years of golden Buddha, tea servers,
cats from the future and a creeping necessity to make hospitals and
nursing homes as automated as possible, it is perhaps less unexpected
that a Japan two or three decades from now may very well be populated by
three-foot-tall porters, bear-faced nurses, and in all likelihood eventually a
grinning, mechanical doctor as well. If anyone is going to do so, Japan will
certainly be the first.
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