Michele Guarnieri, Co-Founder and CEO of HiBoT, a Japan-based company creating cutting-edge robots for practical use, discusses the role that Japan has played not only in the development of robotics as a field, but in our concepts of what roles robots can play in society and in our lives. Robotics have become commonplace in fields such as factory automation and home entertainment, he notes, but in Japan there is an exceptional anticipation among the general public for robots that can handle a wider range of tasks. In addition to talking about how Japan built their high reputation in robotics, he also shares the driving philosophy behind HiBoT’s work, and describes the kinds of applications where their robots can make work environments safer and more efficient.