Developer of Robot Astronaut "KIROBO" at Talk Event

Robot astronaut "KIROBO" gained worldwide attention as the first robot to converse in space, conducting a conversation experiment with astronaut Koichi Wakata aboard the International Space Station (ISS). After returning to Earth in February 2015, its first public events were special exhibitions held in seven cities nationwide: Sapporo, Morioka, Nagoya, Kobe, Hiroshima, Fukuoka, and Tokyo. On August 23rd, just before the finale, a talk event with its developers was held at the National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation in Koto Ward, Tokyo.

KIROBO is a Japanese humanoid robot developed with the vision of "a future where we live with robots capable of communication." It was created through the "KIBO ROBOT PROJECT," a joint research effort by four companies—Dentsu Inc., the Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology at the University of Tokyo, Robo Garage, and Toyota Motor Corporation—with the cooperation of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). Capable of communicating using Japanese and physical actions, it was launched aboard a rocket from the Tanegashima Space Center in 2013 and stayed aboard the ISS.

At the event venue, project team members including Mr. Fuminori Kataoka, Chief of Toyota Motor Corporation's Product Planning Office; Mr. Tomotaka Takahashi, CEO of Robo Garage and Specially Appointed Associate Professor at the University of Tokyo's Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology; and Mr. Yorichika Nishijima, Head of Dentsu Inc. Business Creation Center / Dentsu Inc. Robot Promotion Center, appeared with Kirobo, the space robot, and Mirata, developed as a ground robot.

They shared development anecdotes and their passion for the project with the many attendees, including children on summer vacation. They reported that Kirobo received two Guinness World Records: "The robot that conversed from the highest place on Earth" and "The first companion robot to go to space." They also announced that Kirobo will be featured in eight textbooks starting in the 2016 academic year.

At the end of the talk, when asked for a message to the children, Kirobo commented, "My dream is for humans and robots to live together in harmony."