When you think of "stereotypical Japanese things", what comes to mind? I imagine that many would respond with sushi, samurai, green tea, chopsticks, cherry blossoms, and technology.

Japan has become synonymous with technology, and it's an association that has been well earned. Despite the abundant technological advances that have been made, it's not like every day life is overrun with robots, and insane gadgets. The craziest that I personally experience on a daily basis was smartphones, and electronically embellished toilets. A lot of the time you forget how much technology Japan really has.

But regardless of how often you see them out and about, here are five hardworking robot(ic) machines you'll find in Japan.


Toilets
"Robot" toilets are pretty common nowadays. More and more public restrooms are getting revamped with "washlet" toilets that include features such as a bidet (for washing your bum and the surrounding area), warmed seats, automatic lids, and bird or water sound effects to mask the embarrassing sounds your body just might make.

Below is a short little video of the toilets in the building of the school I worked at. There were no sounds on these ones, but all other features are in tact. Gotta love opening that door, and seeing the lid pop up in such an inviting manner as if it's saying, "Please come void your bladder in me!". Could definitely do without the light, however.


Here is the control panel that's mounted on the wall. I've always liked the "BIG" and "little" flush options on Japanese toilets; they even have it on older types. The toilet automatically flushes, however, so you rarely need to use them.


Technology always evolves, and toilet technology is no different. Now they've come out with a brand new type of washlet toilet that can be controlled by your smartphone.


That's... convenient? How would you feel about having one of these toilets in your home?


Cleaning Robots
One day, while killing some time in an underground shopping mall, I came across this beauty. It's a robot that does the floor, and it's "industrial" size (well, moreso than a little Roomba). What impressed me was not only that it's very quiet, but that it sings. Never thought that robots would whistle while they work...


What you can't see is a guy off to the right holding a remote control and directing the robot. So it isn't fully automatic, but at least this way someone still needs a job! It's also not very quick... but maybe this was just a test run.


Robotic Hair Dryers
Okay, so maybe this one isn't really a robot, but I think it comes close enough. My first time at the salon I was amazed at the hair dryer. Maybe they're industry standard now, but I had certainly never seen one like this before.


With this hair dryer the little arms on the side flap up and down. I honestly never feel any heat coming out of them, but it does seem to dry hair. It also sings, because a hair dryer that doesn't is just silly. Unfortunately, I haven't had a chance to record it, but it sounds much like the cleaning robot. It places a music box version of "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star".


Robot Flagmen Working for Construction
You know how when there's construction going on, there's always one or two people who are standing out under the hot sun directing the traffic with their signs? On the especially hot days, you feel pretty bad for them, because it must be awful to have to stand there all day long.

Well, Japan has fixed that problem, and replaced the human traffic director with a robot(ish thing), and tons of arrows.


The arm holding the baton just moves up and down telling people to veer to the right. I guess if they have to go left, they need to bring in another guy... one who's a leftie.

Robots That Answer Questions
I've saved the most impressive robot until last. Believe it or not, the photo below is of a robot that they had on display and demonstration at the Aichi World Expo in 2005. She is pretty amazing, and can speak Japanese, Korean, and English. She was in a box, but you could try her out. She was an information guide, so you could ask her questions about the expo, or just see where the conversation led.



Her movements are a little choppy, but she's pretty amazing! And at first glance, it was a bit hard to tell that she wasn't human.

They had a lot of other robots at the expo as well, so if you're interested, you can check out the expo website that has a listing of them all ([You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]).


While the above are all "everyday robots" and are designed for a specific purpose in mind, there are new robots being invented every year that offer a wide range of skills. For some fun-loving robots, visit [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

What robots would you be most interested in seeing in your every day life?

I've heard about the toilet ones once before, as well as the cleaning robot. (Aka thanks tumblr!) I always thought they were pretty cool, and it would be nice to have them in the home. Most of these are pretty neat, and I'm fine with all of them except the last one. She just looks...creepy. Like the design hit some serious uncanny valley in terms of having her look human.

As the daughter of a plumber, I truly appreciate the time you spent looking at toilets. (:

I experienced the toilets in Japan. It was interesting. Especially since they have seat warmers....it would be nice in the winter, but it was not as fun with it being so hot in the summer. I didn't use most of the other features, but I liked the toilets where you could play noises so your stall next to you didn't hear much.

I wish we had toilets in America like those in Japan. When I came back home, I missed the bidet function so badly. The biggest negative about Japanese washrooms was the lack of either soap or paper towels. >_>