Inside the Robot Kingdom: Japan, Mechatronics, and the Coming Robotopia

261 Pages·1988·17.992 MB·English

by  Frederik L. Schodt

INSIDE
THE ROBOT:
KINGDOM
Japan, Mechatronics,
and the Coming Robotopia
Frederik L. Schodt
$1995
provocative examination of
culture and technology in japan
THE JAPANESE call their nation robotto okoku,
the "Robot Kingdom." And for good reason.
A visitor to Japan today will see robots mak-
ing sushi, robots starring in feature films
and comic books, and robot factories turning
out sophisticated parts assemblies with al-
most no h uman intervention. This book is a
guide to that kingdom. It is also a warning.
To remain competitive, says author Frederik
L. Schodt, Western nations must discard
their suspicions of soulless humanoid ma-
chines. The threat from robots today comes
not from the fear that they will turn upon
their masters, but from the fact that whoever
controls robots controls the future of world
manufacturing. Right now, Japanese robotics
applications are so far advanced that it may
already be too late for other nations to catch
up.
How has Japan done it? Relying on per-
sonal interviews and research in Japan,
Schodt charts the course of Japanese robotics
development. He tells the story of Japan's
first "robot" — a tea-carrying doll — and intro-
duces the " Japanese Thomas Edison," a
nineteenth-century genius named Hisashige
Tanaka. The Japanese passion for mecha-
nisms ise xamined in the light of religion
and culture. So is the claim that robot toys
and comic books have been crucial to the
widespread acceptance of robotization at all
levels of society.
Most of Japan's modern technology, how-
ever, has come from America and Europe.
Schodt details how Japan first borrowed and
then refined "robotics" into "robotics syn-
ergy," enabling Japanese corporations to cut
costs, maintain quality, and hold on to a
manufacturing base onshore even as they set
up strategic industrial beachheads overseas.
But while the Japanese establishment
boasts of robotization as an unqualified suc-
cess, Schodt shows that there is another,
(continued on back flap)
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INSIDE
THE
ROBOT
KINGDOM
Japan, Mechatronics,
and the Coming
Robotopia
Frederik L. Schodt
i
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KODANSHA INTERNATIONAL LTD.
Tokyo and New York
To my parents, who encouraged me
to see the world in different ways
Note: All Japanese personal names appear in Western order,
that is, given name first and family name last. Macrons have
been omitted on Japanese words. All translations by the
author unless otherwise noted.
Book design by Eric Jungerman.
Composition by Harrington-Young, Albany, California.
Distributed in the United States by Kodansha International/
USA Ltd., through Harper & Row, Publishers, Inc., 10 East
53rd Street, New York, New York 10022. Published by
Kodansha International Ltd., 2-2 Otowa 1-chome, Bunkyo-
ku, Tokyo 112 and Kodansha International/USA Ltd., 10 East
53rd Street, New York, New York 10022.
Copyright e 1988 by Kodansha International Ltd.
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
First edition, 1988
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Schodt, FrederikL.,1950-
Inside the robot kingdom.
Bibliography: p.
Includes index.
1. Robotics — Japan. I. Title.
TJ211.S39 1988 338'. 06 87-81686
ISBN 0-87011-854-4 (U.S.)
ISBN 4-7700-1354-x Qapan)
Contents
Preface
PART ONE Introducing the Robot Kingdom and the Robot
1 The Robot Kingdom 13
2 What Is a Robot? 29
PART TWO Before Industrial Robots: A State of M ind
3 The First Japanese Robot 55
4 Robots of the Imagination 73
5 The Toy Robot Kingdom 91
PART THREE After Industrial Robots: Building the Kingdom
6 Japan Manufactures the Industrial Robot 111
7 An Empire of Yellow Robots 131
8 The Man-Machine Interface 150
9 Robots and the Wealth of Nations 169
PART FOUR Beyond Industrial Robots
10 Religion and Robots 195
11 Six Legs, Four Legs, Two Legs, or None? 213
Notes 237
Bibliography 247
Index 252
Credits 256

Preface
Most books about robots fit into one of three categories:
science fiction, technical, or romantic speculation. This book
fits into none of them. It i s about robots and Japan, and in the
larger sense, about technology and culture. Like most peo-
ple, until recently my image of robots confused science
fiction and real life. I h ave always been fascinated, however,
by the way robots in all forms — in fantasy and industry — are
so celebrated in Japan. Around the end of 1984, while touring
some factories in the United States, and seeing so few indus-
trial robots at work, I b egan to realize that "robots" — in all
their various forms — can really be seen as a symbol of a
larger relationship between people and technology. To un-
derstand why A merica was having trouble with robotization
and other steps on the road to the twenty-first century, and
why Japan seemed to be more successful, it w ould be neces-
sary to l ook beyond the machine. This led to my interviewing
people with all kinds of different connections with robots in
both nations, touring factories, attending international con-
ferences, and r eading hundreds of books, magazines, and
journals and, especially, the daily industrial newspapers of
Japan.
Japan and robots is a complex and treacherous subject to
venture into. This book is a b it like a helicopter tour of it. The
pilot — the author — is not a technologist, and is f ascinated by
certain areas but not by others. In a somewhat idiosyncratic
journey, therefore, the helicopter sweeps quickly over vast
plains, hovers briefly over some areas, and occasionally
alights for a close-up inspection and to solicit local opinions.
In the process, many questions will be raised, and only some
will be answered. That is the intention.
I w ould like to thank the following for granting me per-
sonal interviews over the course of my research from 1985 to
1987
Academia and government: Shigeo Hirose, Masahiro Mori,
Yoji Umetani (Tokyo Institute of Technology); Shinnichi Yuta
(University of Tsukuba); Hiroyuki Yoshikawa (University of
Tokyo); Ichiro Kato, Yukio Hasegawa (Waseda University);
Susumu Tachi, Eiji Nakano (Mechanical Engineering Labora-
tory); Yoshiaki Shirai (Electrotechnical Laboratory); Soichi
Kumekawa, Noboru Sugimoto (Research Institute of Indus-
trial Safety, Ministry of Labor); Hiroaki Ando (Advanced
Robot Technology Research Association); Takumi Kojima
(Research Institute of Japan Small Business Corporation);
Tetsuo Yokoyama, Seiji Furihata (Tokyo Metropolitan Indus-
trial Technology Center); Naoyuki Kameyama (National In-
stitute ofE mployment and Vocational Research); Kenneth J.
Waldron (Ohio State University); Yutaka Kanayama (Center
for Robotic Systems, University of California, Santa Barbara);
Bernard Roth (Stanford University).
Industry /labor organizations: Akihisa Terasaki (Federation
of Japan Automobile Workers' Unions); Kanji Yonemoto (Ja-
pan Industrial Robot Association); Eric Mittelstadt (Robotic
Industries Association); Tatsuoki Masui (JAROL); Tadao Ta-
mura, Toyokatsu Sato (International Robotics and Factory
Automation Center).
Private industry: Gensuke Okada, Naohide Kumagai (Ka-
wasaki Heavy Industries Ltd.); Seiuemon Inaba (FanucLtd.);
Takuya Kato (Kato Seiki, Inc.); Kenichi Natsume, Tsugio
Nakamoto, Jun-ichi Chiba (Kyodo Printing Co., Ltd.); No-
buyuki Fujita, Noriyuki Tanaka, Hiroji Mizuguchi, Sumio
Nagashima, Tetsuo Suzuki, Masana Minami, Yoshinori Ku-
no, Michael Caine (Toshiba Corporation); Kosei Minami,
Tsuyoshi Miura, Toshiya Yamamoto, Hirokazu Shimatake
(Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.); Keigo Ushimaru, Iwato Fujii,
Tatsuya Nakamine (Seibu Department Stores Ltd.); Toshi
Inada, Kenro Motoda (Motoda Electronics Co., Ltd.); Sueo
Matsubara (Automax/Mukta Research Institute); Yoshiyuki
Nakano, Hideo Maki (Hitachi Works, Hitachi Ltd.); Kisaku
Suzuki, Junichiro Nishimura (Suzumo Machinery Industry
Co., Ltd.); Hajime Karatsu, Sukeji Ito (Matsushita Electric
PREFACE
Industrial Co., Ltd.); Kiyoshi Tawara (Yamasaki Seisakujo);
Yoshiaki Maeda, Katsuhiro Kawasaki, Shigeru Tabei, Yuki Ges-
sei (JVC- Victor Company of Japan Ltd.); Brian Carlisle (Adept
Technology, Inc.); Joseph Engelberger (Transitions Research
Corporation); Victor Sheinman (A utomatix); Walter Weisel (Prab
Robots, Inc.); Eric Mittelstadt (GMF Robotics, Inc.).
Toy industry: Hideki Konishi, Katsumasa Yabu (Namco
Ltd.); Yoshiyuki Matsumoto, Yoshiro Yamasaki (Tomy Cor-
poration); Satoru Matsumoto, Takayuki Morishima, Akira
Murakami (Bandai, Inc.); Hideaki Yoke (Takara Co.); Yukio
Tanaka, Tetsuro Sugawara (Fuji Bussan, Inc.); Teruhisa Kita-
hara ("Toys" — Tin Toy Museum); Douglas Thomson (Toy
Manufacturers of America).
Fantasy industry: Takeyuki Kanda, Ryosuke Takahashi,
Yoshiyuki Tomino, Eiji Yamaura (Nippon Sunrise, Inc.); Osa-
mu Tezuka (Tezuka Productions); Go Nagai (Dynamic Pro);
Kosei Ono (comic and film critic); Shunichi Mizuno (Cybot,
Inc.).
Other fields: Shoji Tatsukawa (Kitasato University); Shobe-e
Tamaya (karakuri master); Teijiro Muramatsu (University of
Tokyo Honorary Professor); Kiyoshi Mori (Haniuda Iron
Works/author); Itsuo Sakane (Asahi shinbun Department of
Arts and Sciences); Satoshi Kamata (journalist).
I am grateful to all the people and organizations who
helped me on this project. The following deserve special
mention: editor Peter Goodman, who liked my eccentric
book proposal, encouraged me during writer's angst, and
advised me with skill and tact; Takumi Kojima, of the Re-
search Institute of Japan Small Business Corporation, who
was unsparing of his time and of use of his organization's
library and data bases; Toshiba's Yoshinori Kuno and
Shigenobu Uchikoshi; Kato Seiki's Kato family; Hitachi's
Yoichi Suga; Nissan Motor's Kumiko Yamaguchi; JVC's
Junko Yoshida; Yoshiyuki Tomino and Nippon Sunrise;
Akihisa Shirasaki of the Japan Industrial Safety and Health
Association; Kiyohide Chojima of JIRA; Hiromi Yoshimura;
and Jo and Nanae Inoue. For unswerving help during trips to
Japan, I thank the Narita family. For reading drafts, I am
PREFACE