Japan Unveils Ambulances for Humanoids

TOKYO. A broken humanoid robot could soon get a visit from its own repair crew. GMO AI & Robotics Corporation plans to launch a “humanoid ambulance” this month, sending engineers to customers with tools, spare parts and a replacement robot aboard. 

Robotics manufacturer GMO AIR which announced the service on Sept. 8, will cover robots the company has supplied, with each dispatch assessed according to the robot’s condition and the availability of its repair team. 

The service will start with one vehicle based at GMO’s Shibuya headquarters. The company expects engineers to reach customers within one to two hours, initially covering central Tokyo, Sankei Shimbun reported. Regional bases could follow in a few years, depending on demand. 

Inside, the van resembles a conventional ambulance, complete with a stretcher on which engineers can lay a robot flat.  

Diagnostic equipment, replacement parts, and tools will allow the team to attempt repairs at the customer’s site. Engineers from the group’s Shibuya lab, where they adapt and develop humanoid applications, will be onboard. 

If a robot cannot be repaired there, a spare unit could keep the customer’s work going while the damaged machine returns to the lab. 

According to reports, replacement comes with a condition. Customers need an existing subscription costing 70,000 yen a month, which includes up to 1.5 months of loaner use each year... 

The company points to its experience at August’s World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing held earlier this year as an example of why quick repairs matter. It says the head of its customized Unitree G1 broke during a 400-meter heat. Engineers used spare parts to get the robot running again in about 10 minutes, in time for the semifinal. 

GMO AIR distributes robots rather than manufacturing them. Its lineup includes Unitree’s G1 and H1 humanoids, and it is working with JAL Ground Service on a roughly three-year ground-handling trial at Haneda Airport using two Unitree machines. 

The company describes the van as Japan’s first dedicated humanoid maintenance vehicle, based on its own research. It has not disclosed how many robots the single vehicle will support.