--- title: "Japanese Railroad Builds Giant Gundam-Style Robot to Fix Power Lines" description: "A Japanese company is taking service robotics to a whole new level with their humanoid power line-fixing robot." date: "2022-04-27" modified: "2022-04-27" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/japanese-railroad-giant-gundam-robot" categories: - "Robotics" - "Robots and Machines" tags: - "Humanoid Robots" - "the digest" - "virtual reality headset" - "vr" --- # Japanese Railroad Builds Giant Gundam-Style Robot to Fix Power Lines ![A Japanese company is taking service robotics to a whole new level with their humanoid power line-fixing robot.]() *\Image: JR WEST\* ## Based Bot A Japanese company is taking service robotics to a whole new level with a giant, humanoid maintenance robot. As [*New Atlas*]() and [other blogs reported](), the West Japan Rail Company, also known as JR West, is now using a humongous [Gundam]()-style robot to fix remote railway power lines — and to make it even cooler, the robot is piloted by an actual human wearing a VR setup. With a giant barrel-chested torso mounted on a hydraulic crane arm that can lift it up to 32 feet in the air, this maintenance robot's head looks a bit like Pixar character "WALL-E" and moves in tandem with the motions of its human pilot who tells it where to look and what to do. ## Riding the Rails So far, this robot developed by the JR West in tandem with the Nippon Signal railway signal technology company is just a prototype and won't be put to work widely until 2024. Nevertheless, it's an awesome peek into the future of service robots, which up until now have mostly freaked people out as they [chase them through stores]() — or worse, [assist with police arrests]() and [border patrolling](). Though it was made by the rail industry, there's little doubt that once it's available for purchase, other markets will be interested in getting in on the action. May the future of service robots be more Gundam and less police bot! **READ MORE:** [Japanese rail company rolls out VR-piloted Gundam robot worker]() \[*New Atlas*\] **More awesome robots:** *[Japanese Company Creates Suit That Turns You Into a Towering Mecha]()* ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()