The Brief

Robots are huge in Japan. The market is projected to expand to $28 billion by 2020. Robot innovations were made a pillar of the Japanese government’s growth strategy, and a Robot Olympics may be held alongside the Tokyo Olympics in 2020. Through animation and popular culture, robots have been a special presence in the lives of the Japanese people. This project was designed to expand the possibilities of robots and develop a humanoid robot capable of communicating with humans, both on Earth and in outer space. The team was comprised of Toyota, which contributed their latest voice-recognition software to this project; Robo Garage and the University of Tokyo, who worked together on the development of the hardware and mechanical movements, enabling Kirobo to coexist in space with humans; and an ad agency, which wrote the words Kirobo would say based on their communication knowledge and human insights. The results of their collaboration showed the world that robots were not only capable of working for humans, but also could serve as conversation partners. The budget was funded entirely by private companies, with no tax assistance. The technology passed all of its tests and was successfully demonstrated to the world.

Kirobo is a verbal communication robot. It was built from the ground up, with no particular brand in mind, to fulfill the team member’s dream of sending a talking robot into space. With its artificial intelligence, voice recognition, and natural language processing capabilities, Kirobo can hold a conversation with humans. A Japanese ad agency was responsible for developing the words Kirobo would say, based on its years of experience communicating effective messages to the world. To be launched into space, Kirobo had to clear special criteria from NASA. It was also given several modifications so that it would survive the harsh conditions of space, such as a tiny 4 mm fan on its internal camera. And it was designed with an adorable humanoid form to appeal to everyone, especially children. After nine months of development, with hundreds of trial-and-error prototypes, 10 low-gravity experiments, and tests for more than 14 criteria, including noise, electromagnetic compatibility and thermal analysis, Kirobo was finally ready. On August 4th, 2013, Kirobo became the first humanoid robot to reach space. He held a conversation with Astronaut Koichi Wakata that made headlines worldwide. The project worked with limited funds, so it had to make effective use of the equipment on the ISS to stay within budget. (Launching just 1 kg into space requires around $55,000.) With this experiment in space, Kirobo and Mr. Wakata are taking a new step in the history of interaction between human and robots. Kirobo is currently involved in experiments on the ISS and is scheduled to return to Earth this year or next year. The next stage will include development of its remote control (with Japanese space agency JAXA) and autonomous conversation capabilities to enable it to address issues on Earth, such as the increasing individualization of society.

Supported by Toyota, Robo Garage and the University of Tokyo, the Kirobo Project is part of a larger vision to improve the relationship between humans and robots. Working toward our grand goal of outer space, we raised the level of technology to make the robot capable of withstanding extremely harsh conditions. These advancements are already being applied to numerous robotics projects in Japan and worldwide. And through this “communication experiment,” we succeeded in showing people all over the world how humans and robots will coexist in the future. At the same time, by emphasizing humanity in the robot’s interface design, we contributed to a greater awareness of the team members’ brands and philosophies. A model robot kit by the same designer has sold over 100,000 sets in Japan, so the potential for sales of Kirobo’s technologies is huge. The project was reported in 20,000 media publications worldwide, including CNN, NBC, and BBC. Awareness rate for Kirobo in Japan reached 59.3%. It was featured in the Google Zeitgeist 2013 video, which received over 31,000,000 views on YouTube. It will even be placed on the cover of a textbook used in schools in Japan and overseas.