Japan launches humanoid ambulance to cure malfunctioning robots

Before humanoid robots fully integrate into our societies and inhabit our homes, factories and workspaces, a Japanese company is thinking about going one step ahead. GMO has just unveiled a “Humanoid Ambulance” that it will launch this month to perform on-site maintenance.

This is the country’s (and possibly the world’s) first dedicated vehicle designed to handle humanoid maintenance and troubleshooting.

It resembles a conventional van-style ambulance used for medical emergencies, albeit with custom graphics on the exterior detailing its specialization.

The ambulance comes from GMO Internet Group’s artificial intelligence and robotics division, which supplies robots from various manufacturers such as China’s Unitree, and facilitates allied services. Earlier this year, it was in the news for partnering with Japan Airlines to have humanoid robots help its ground support staff handle luggage and operate equipment at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport.

As such, this ambulance is intended to service robots sold by GMO and will have a trained engineer on board to rectify problems. The company noted that if it is unable to repair a malfunctioning robot at the facility during a home visit, the ambulance service will transport it to a repair center and provide a replacement unit.

It may seem like a crazy idea, but the reality is that we may need more of this type of infrastructure in just a few years.

Humanoid robots are being built to perform household tasks, provide companionship for seniors, assemble products in factories and move inventory in warehouses. We’re also seeing rapid development of AI models that guide robotic movements and capabilities, and there’s even a push to make it easier for people to train robots and share those skills so others can use them with their hardware.

According to consulting giant McKinsey & Co., the global robotics market will expand to around $370 billion by 2040. While China is set to capture half of that total value in the next decade and a half, Japan’s government is eyeing a 30% market share, equivalent to nearly $125 billion.

So this ambulance – probably the first of many – is a small part of Japan’s attempt to build systems to address the challenges of a new high-tech industry in advance. I bet next time we’ll see software to manage entire fleets of robots and automatically distribute workloads among them.

Source: GMO Internet Group