Japan to animate robot industry

The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry announced on Tuesday that it is to launch a project to nurture and develop the robot industry within Japan. It believes that robotics is set to become an extremely important part of the manufacturing industry in the future, and hopes that the project--titled "Robot Challenge in the 21st Century"--will help to make Japan a world leader in the sector. Japan is a major exporter of robots, both for the industrial sector and for the home market with devices such as Sony's Aibo.

Companies that are directly involved in robot development are to be offered generous subsidies. It's not clear how much money will be pumped into the project by the Japanese government, although the equivalent of £3m will be diverted from the fiscal 2002 budget into the plans.

The Japanese government hopes that the project will help to produce robots that could help with rescue operations in the event of natural disasters. There are also plans to change the law, which could make it legal for robots to work in hospitals and nursing homes. Current insurance cover does not allow a robot to take a role in healthcare. --Graeme Wearden, ZDUK