---
title: "Stores In Japan Are Stocking Shelves With Remote-Controlled Robots"
description: "Two major convenience store franchises in Japan are testing out robots capable of stocking shelves using two creepy hands with three \"fingers\" each."
date: "2020-09-15"
modified: "2020-09-15"
authors:
  - name: "Victor Tangermann"
    job_title: "Senior Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/stores-japan-stocking-shelves-remote-controlled-robots"
categories:
  - "Robotics"
  - "Robots and Machines"
tags:
  - "Japan"
  - "store robots"
  - "the digest"
  - "walmart"
---

# Stores In Japan Are Stocking Shelves With Remote-Controlled Robots

![Two major convenience store franchises in Japan are testing out robots capable of stocking shelves using two creepy hands with three "fingers" each.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/seven-foot-robots-stocking-shelves-japan.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: Telexistence\</em\>*

## Robot Underlords

Two major convenience store franchises in Japan are testing out robots capable of stocking shelves using two creepy hands with three "fingers" each, [*CNN* reports](<https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/14/business/robots-japan-supermarkets-spc-intl/index.html>).

The seven-foot is called Model-T, named after the Ford automobile that triggered a car revolution in the early 1900s, and was developed by Japanese startup Telexistence. During a pilot program, it was controlled by a "pilot" in an office miles away.

"It is able to grasp, or pick and place, objects of several different shapes and sizes into different locations," Matt Komatsu, head of business development and operations at Telexistence, told *CNN*.

## Gripping Food

That makes it more nimble and mobile than the [robots used by Walmart](<https://futurism.com/walmart-is-getting-new-employees-and-theyre-robots>) to scan shelves for inventory, according to its inventors.

The goal is to allow a single human to work at multiple stores, a solution for possible labor shortages. Japan also has a rapidly aging population with fewer able-bodied people ready to take on such jobs.

## Logging In

The Model T is controlled by a human wearing a virtual reality headset and special gloves. A microphone and headphones even allow for communication with nearby shoppers.

The ongoing coronavirus pandemic ended up accelerating development of the Model T as such a technology could end up reducing human-to-human contact. According to *CNN*, Telexistence saw an uptick in interest over the last couple of months.

**READ MORE:** [Seven-foot robots are stacking shelves in Tokyo convenience stores](<https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/14/business/robots-japan-supermarkets-spc-intl/index.html>) \[*CNN*\]

**More on robotic workers:** *[Walmart Employees Hate Their New Robot Coworkers](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/walmart-employees-hate-robot>)*

## Author
I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/vtanger.bsky.social>)