Robotics research at AIST, boasting a thirty-year history, has contributed largely to the development of robotics and related industries by playing a major role in the promotion of national projects of research and development which aim at strengthening the foundations of the robot industry in Japan. The projects include the creation of robots working in extreme conditions, humanoids, etc.

AIST researchers engage in research and development of the robots with various abilities under the motto of “Creation: Drawing a picture on an empty canvas according to the people's desire”.

There are a variety of robots, including those which function to replace people under various situation. There are robots with highly sophisticated abilities comparable to human specialists. The robots profiled in this feature article represent the achievements of our efforts to offer robots with smart intelligence that serve a useful purpose in society.

There are demands for robotics as resolution to a number of issues of the 21^st century, such as an ageing population, environmental concerns, creation of new industries, etc. AIST must explore a scenario to expand the industry, fulfilling these expectations.

Although it is commonly recognized that Japan's robotic industry has international competitiveness, it is also true that the market size is limited as the technology application is focused on the manufacturing industry.

Enormous efforts will be called for in order to respond to the versatile needs of the users through the creation of products which will serve as a core of a new industry. AIST will assess the needs which can be met by the implementation of various technological seeds of AIST from the broader range of social demands. It is also demanded to propose and advocate the new concept of a robot that is feasible and meets social needs, based on the technological seeds AIST can offer.

AIST is striving for the further advancement of robotics research projects including the robots introduced in this article and development of robotics industry, that, we believe, will lead to the resolution of the key issues of our society in the 21^st century.