Mira Robotics Co., Ltd. (CEO: Ken Matsui), which is based in Kawasaki City and develops partner robots, announced the housework support service robot “ugo” on February 7, 2019.
Contents
1 ■ What is the housework support service robot “ugo”?
2 ■ Three initiatives of “ugo”
3 ■ Evolution of services
4 ■ Recruitment of beta version users
■ What is the housework support service robot “ugo”?
It is a service robot that allows the operator to remotely control household chores.
Until now, the housekeeping service by humans has been used, but it has not become widespread due to the resistance of workers to enter the house, privacy issues, and high fees.
When the robot takes charge of this, it will be possible to receive reliable services.
We are aiming for a service that can be easily used by double-income households and elderly households, which are expected to continue to increase in the future.
In the demonstration using the prototype, a series of operations of taking out the laundry from the washing machine, drying it, and folding it was performed.
The length of the arm is about 60 cm, and it can carry up to a weight of about 1 to 2 kg. Also, the height of the robot itself can be changed. The normal height is about 110 cm, but it can be extended to a minimum of 30 cm and a maximum of about 180 cm, making it suitable for drying laundry, which tends to be in high places.
The weight of the main body is about 73 kg. In the future, we are aiming to reduce the weight to 30-40 kg.
■ Three initiatives of “ugo”
We are working to solve three problems that users of housekeeping services are concerned about.
Resistance to other people entering the house By moving the robot by remote control, the resistance to workers entering the house is alleviated.
The filtering function solves the problem by converting underwear and passbooks into contour images necessary for work.
Privacy while away This is solved by installing a “privacy protection system”. The user requests household chores from the smartphone’s dedicated app, and the operator cannot operate the robot without permission. It can be controlled by the system so that it can be moved only to the place where it is needed, avoiding the bedroom and study.
High-priced charges
Low-cost operation is realized by using within 20,000 to 25,000 yen per month.
Normally, the market price for housework support services is 50,000 to 100,000 yen, but it will be possible to provide it at a low price of less than half.
In addition, we are planning remote diagnosis and tutoring for additional services in the future. (Bill each time)
■ Evolution of services
We plan to work on this service aiming for three stages of evolution from Step 1 to Step 3.
・Step1 Learn by remote control and accumulate data.
・Step2 Partially automate based on the accumulated data.
・Step3 Process is automatically and optimized by AI to move multiple robots in parallel.
Ken Matsui (CEO of Mira Robotics) has a human network because the current domestic market size is 90.6 billion yen, the future scale is 217.6 billion yen by 2025, and there is a potential market of up to 600 billion yen including potential customers. He said , “I would like to aim to create a robot that is said to be thankful every day , ” he said , planning to realize a new future work style in partnership with the Pasona Group .
■ Recruitment of beta version users
The company plans to recruit beta version users of the “ugo” prototype in August 2019 and put it in the actual home.
The service is scheduled to start in May 2020, and content and services that can be used will be added when the service starts.
In addition, it is expected that more diverse work can be done by improving the hand part of the robot to be replaceable and attaching a hand specialized for each business, aiming for thousands of users in 2021,
one robot in the family Ken Matsui said that he is thinking of a future that seems to be in place.
■ Related press releases
https://robot.mirai-media.net/ugo-mira-robotics/
■ Related images