The Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (Tokyo 2020) has launched the Tokyo 2020 Robot Project, one of many programmes aimed at ensuring the Tokyo 2020 Games will be the most innovative ever and providing visiting fans with an experience they are unlikely to forget.

The Human Support Robot and Delivery Support Robot developed by Toyota Motor Corporation will allow all spectators to enjoy watching the Tokyo 2020 Games in greater comfort. The robots will provide assistance to spectators in wheelchairs at the Olympic Stadium by carrying food and other goods, guiding people to their seats, and providing event information.

Power Assist Suits developed by Panasonic Corporation will be utilised in the backstage areas of venues and at the Olympic and Paralympic Villages to unload and transport heavy objects, including food and drinks, and for waste disposal, thus easing human workloads and providing a healthier and safer working environment. The suits will also be deployed at airports loading incoming athletes’ luggage onto buses.

Other robots will perform a number of additional duties during the Games, details of which will be announced later. Overall, robot technology will help deliver a safer and smoother Games, and while the robots will be deployed only in specific roles during the Games, the project is expected to showcase their potential for wider application in everyday life.

Hirohisa Hirukawa, leader of the Tokyo 2020 Robot Project, commented, “The Tokyo 2020 Games are a unique opportunity for us to display Japanese robot technology. This project will not simply be about exhibiting robots but showcasing their practical real-life deployment helping people. So there will be not only sports at the Tokyo 2020 Games, but some cool robots at work to look forward to as well.”

The Tokyo 2020 Robot Project brings together experts in the field of robotics, and is supported by Japan’s Cabinet Secretariat, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, Panasonic Corporation, Toyota Motor Corporation, and Tokyo 2020.