The news is now solemnly confirmed and detailed, the World Robot Summit (WRS) will be held in October 2020 in Japan. An announcement made in autumn 2016 by the Japanese Government confirmed the information. To give one light-hearted fact, the Land of the Rising Sun will also host the same year both the Robotic and the Summer Olympics.
The holding of such an event is not insignificant. Indeed, it follows a plan entitled “New Robot Strategy” published by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) in 2015.
In the preamble to the document, the Government of Japan – which intends to confirm and maintain its position as the first robotic superpower – points out that the country“ has been faced with the issues of declining birth rate and ageing society which are progressing at an unparalleled speed worldwide and thus Japan has become one of the first among other nations to encounter such challenges as a decline in the number of working-age population, shortage in labor and higher social security costs as a result of the issues above.”.
In reality, the WRS is divided into two sub-events. A Competition part, the World Robot Challenge (WRC) – which includes Industrial Robotics, Service Robotics, Disaster Robotics and Junior Robotics categories- and an exhibition part, the World Robot Expo (WRE). The places chosen by the Government are the “Aichi International Exhibition Center” in Aichi Prefecture and also the Prefecture of Fukushima for some demonstrations that will require specific infrastructures.
Three main goals are given by METI for the WRS:
– accelerate the R&D and the social implementation of robots;
– bring together the most advanced robot technologies from all over the world and overcome the limits to solve challenges that arise;
– deepen people’s understanding of robots and to induce positive discussions that would lead to concrete uses and applications of robots.
Also it should be noted that in order to organize the WRS of 2020, a preparatory World Robot Summit in 2018 will be held in Tokyo. For more information, consult the METI Website.