Japan is known as land of rising sun and even robots. The robots have become a constant need of society. Whether its office or home. They have made a space in every sphere of life. These robots are amazing and have a different attire in this world. 

At a sleek office building in Shinagawa, Tokyo, workers are strolling in and out for lunch. As they walk through the glass doors, they pass two security guards, each dutifully flanking the passage in stern silence. It all seems unremarkable, until you realise one of those security guards is a robot.

Standing up to five feet tall with wheels and a blue police cap, “his” name is Ugo. His battery lasts up to half a workday, and every two hours he’ll do a routine patrol around the building – even summoning lifts by pushing the call button himself. His digital “face” – which usually displays two big blue cartoony eyes – is replaced with the Japanese text for “on duty”.

Working from home has become much more prevalent across advanced economies during the Covid-19 pandemic. It finds that the overall contribution of working from home to labour input is surprisingly small. Even where firms adopted the practice, many employees did not exploit it; and even those who did work from home did not necessarily do so throughout the week. The firm survey responses suggest that across industries, the average productivity of employees when working from home relative to at the workplace is 68.3%, which is similar to the findings from an employee survey. The results suggest that there is room for improvement to make working from home more feasible.

Many robots are working in home as full-time maids in Japan. They are best friend of elderly people in Japan. 

Paro the furry seal cries softly while an elderly woman pets it. Pepper, a humanoid, waves while leading a group of senior citizens in exercises. The upright Tree guides a disabled man taking shaky steps, saying in a gentle feminine voice, “right, left, well done!”

Robots have the run of Tokyo’s Shin-tomi nursing home, which uses 20 different models to care for its residents. The Japanese government hopes it will be a model for harnessing the country’s robotics expertise to help cope with a swelling elderly population and dwindling workforce.

So, coming to an end these robots are true friend of mankind. A friend in need is friend indeed. 

Parul Anand