It resembles a malevolent robot from 1980s sci-fi, but West Japan Railway’s new humanoid employee was designed with nothing more sinister in mind than a spot of painting and gardening. Starting this month, the machine, which features a crude head and coke-bottle eyes mounted on a truck that can drive on rails, will be put to use for maintenance work on the firm’s network.

The operator sits in a cockpit on the truck, “seeing” through the robot’s eyes via cameras and operating its powerful limbs and hands remotely. With a vertical reach of 12 meters (40 feet), the machine can use various attachments for its arms to carry objects as heavy as 40 kilograms (88 pounds), hold a brush to paint, or use a chainsaw. Initially, the robot’s primary tasks will focus on trimming tree branches along rails and painting metal frames that hold cables above trains, according to the company.

The technology aims to address worker shortages in aging Japan and reduce accidents, such as workers falling from high places or suffering electric shocks. “In the future, we hope to use machines for all kinds of maintenance operations of our infrastructure,” said company president Kazuaki Hasegawa at a recent press conference. “This should provide a case study for how to deal with the labor shortage.”

The implementation of this humanoid robot represents a significant step toward integrating advanced technology into traditional maintenance roles, offering a safer and more efficient solution for infrastructure upkeep.

By Impact Lab