In Japan, even robots are hit by the recession

In what is surely a disappointment for WALL-E fans everywhere, the New York Times reports growing robot unemployment in Japan: 

At a large Yaskawa Electric factory on the southern Japanese island of Kyushu, where robots once churned out more robots, a lone robotic worker with steely arms twisted and turned, testing its motors for the day new orders return. Its immobile co-workers stood silent in rows, many with arms frozen in midair…

Across the industry, shipments of industrial robots fell 33 percent in the last quarter of 2008, and 59 percent in the first quarter of 2009, according to the Japan Robot Association.

 

Even non-industrial robots are taking a hit. Ugoba, “maker of the cute green Pleo dinosaur robot with a wiggly tail” has filed for bankruptcy, the NYT says, despite selling 100,000 of its creations.

However, there is still hope for the robot industry, or at least baby dinosaur robots. “Pleo is alive and in good hands!” its official website declares. The company has been acquired by the Hong Kong based Jetta Group and will be “re-launched” soon. 

YOSHIKAZU TSUNO/AFP/Getty Images