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This Radical Japanese Robot Will Make Toilet Chores A Thing Of The Past!

• Written by: HanaSara Ito

Last updated: 25 January 2021

Chores are a necessary part of human existence; now, more than ever, it’s important to have a clean, hygienic space. But what if those chores could be done without you ever lifting a finger?

Meet Ugo (pronounced like You-Go), a new robot created by Mira Robotics. This clean and friendly buddy was caught zooming around earlier this month, wielding one of the deadliest weapons on earth: a toilet brush!

In an attempt to tackle this new frontier, Mira Robotics teamed up with Chiyo Corporation Ltd., a building management company. Together, they brainstormed how robotics could help them streamline the essential business of cleaning and maintaining buildings.

Ugo began its sparkling debut by cleaning toilets at Oita Prefecture’s Industrial Science and Technology Center. Armed with two different toilet brushes and a spray gun of disinfectant, Ugo whirred to life with enthusiasm, toilet brush spinning like a drive-thru car wash.

Look at him go!

Ugo is a remotely operated cleaning robot, with two adjustable arms to perform tasks. These arms can also move up and down in height, to truly customize itself to each novel situation. It is both an avatar robot and fully automated, an unusual combination for these types of robots!

First, Ugo is remote controlled by maintenance staff. They show Ugo how to do different cleaning tasks. Ugo then learns the tasks itself, so it can clean without any outside help.

Ugo demonstrated its masterful abilities to a captive audience of industry leaders and robotics champions, as well as many adoring fans!

The building maintenance industry has had a difficult time in Japan’s economy where labor is difficult to come by. Many companies are looking for ways to use their existing workforce efficiently and automate tasks that take lots of time without too much skill.

By fully automating building maintenance and cleaning, Ugo’s makers argue, they can reduce unnecessary tasks for humans and cement Japan’s place as the “city of the future”. A normal human worker, alone, takes about 15 minutes to clean a toilet thoroughly. According to the Chiyo Corporation’s calculations, a human cleaning with Ugo in tandem should take 7 minutes-- over 50% less time than without.

Ugo goes first, cleaning and sanitizing everything before his human teammate even gets to the toilet. After a quick check of the video, Ugo’s human counterpart tags in to clean surfaces more carefully and finish the tasks.

Especially now, when so many humans need to be in their home, a little robot like Ugo can do a lot to keep spaces clean and tidy without exposing humans to harm.

Mira Robotics calls this part of the “4th Industrial Revolution”, and we have to say we agree. There will be a (not-so-far) future where robots might do our dishes, our laundry, and clean our toilets, all without starting a revolution out of a science-fiction movie.

Do you have any chores you wish a robot would do? What chore do you think robots should stay away from? Let us know in the comments!

Written by:

HanaSara Ito

HanaSara Ito is a writer, actor, and educator born in Japan and raised in the U.S.A. She loves writing about her experiences across Japan, and hopes everyone enjoys the beautiful amalgam of novelty and tradition that defines modern Japan. Happy trails!

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