Liferobotics

Liferobotics Inc. was a Japanese robotics venture established in December 2007 by Dr. Woo-Keun Yoon, a researcher at the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST). The company was born from a project focused on human-assisting robots, which identified issues with traditional industrial robots, particularly their elbow joints, which posed safety risks and required large operating spaces. This led to the development of an elbow-less robot.

Dr. Yoon's journey into robotics was fueled by a childhood passion for mechanics, famously dismantling his family's vacuum cleaner and building Gundam models. This early interest evolved into a dedicated academic and research career. He founded Liferobotics as a venture from AIST to commercialize the unique robot technology, as AIST itself could not sell the products it developed. The company initially faced headwinds due to the Lehman Shock and a perception that robots would take jobs from humans. However, a shift in Japanese government policy around 2014, promoting robot utilization, brought collaborative robots into the spotlight.

The company's flagship product was CORO, a collaborative robot (cobot) arm designed for picking and placing tasks. Its most distinct feature was the absence of an elbow joint; instead, the arm could extend and retract, allowing it to operate in confined spaces safely alongside human workers. This design was considered a key selling point, as it addressed safety and space concerns inherent in conventional robot arms. CORO was first exhibited at the 2015 International Robot Exhibition and sales began in January 2016. The business model focused on selling these specialized cobots to various industries to alleviate labor shortages.

In February 2018, Liferobotics was acquired by FANUC Corporation, a major player in industrial robots, and became a wholly-owned subsidiary. The acquisition aimed to combine Liferobotics' research and patents with FANUC's mass production capabilities to develop more reliable and competitively priced products. Following the acquisition, the Liferobotics corporate entity was dissolved by the end of June 2018.

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