NEW YORK - A human-like robot has shown that it can install drywall.
Ever-so carefully, the prototype robot uses its hand to grab onto the slab and then carries it and nails it to the studs in the wall. The robot is slow but accurate in a video released by its designers.
The research institute in Japan that developed the robot is aiming to create robots that can be an autonomous replacement of labor for large structures like buildings, houses, aircraft and ships where there is a shortage of human workers.
Announcing the new robot, the : "Along with the declining birthrate and the aging of the population, it is expected that many industries such as the construction industry will fall into serious manual shortages in the future, and it is urgent to solve this problem by robot technology."
The prototype, dubbed the HRP-5P, was announced at a robot conference taking place this week in Madrid, Spain.