Japanese startup bets Iron Man-inspired homes can beat humanoids

Tokyo-based startup MW plans to sell its first robot-equipped home in Tokyo by 2028 and build as many as 10,000 units a year by 2035, equal to 5% of new homes currently built in Japan, according to CEO Shuzo Narita. MW is embedding robotic housekeeping arms into ceilings and walls rather than building humanoid machines, taking a different path from the humanoid boom in China and elsewhere. The company bets specialized building-integrated machines can handle household chores more effectively than human-shaped robots navigating lived-in spaces.

Tokyo-based startup MW is offering homes with built-in robotic housekeeping arms, a counter to a global embrace of humanoids. MW aims to sell its first robot-equipped home in Tokyo by 2028 and build as many as 10,000 units a year by 2035, the equivalent of 5% of new homes now being built in Japan, according to CEO Shuzo Narita. Japan helped pioneer bipedal robots decades ago, but MW is taking a different path from the humanoid boom now sweeping China and much of the rest of the world. Instead of trying to build a human-shaped machine capable of navigating obstacles in a lived-in space, the startup is embedding robotics into buildings. It’s betting that specialized machines attached to ceilings and walls can more effectively tackle household chores.