Thousands of kilometers from Japan, in an office building in Manila’s financial district, a group of young people watches the inside of stores where they have never been. In front of them, monitors show the movements of robotic arms that place drinks on refrigerated shelves. They are the same robots that many Japanese customers believe are fully autonomous. In reality, their apparent independence depends on these Filipino operators who, connected by Internet, correct errors in these machines. When a can falls, they are the ones who give back control.
The automatons that stock the shelves of Japanese stores operate independently almost all the time. Still, there are times when they fail. When a drink slips or a container is misplaced, an operator from Manila puts on a virtual reality headset and regains control. In a few minutes, move the robotic arm precisely until the error is corrected. These interventions are punctual, around 4% of operations, but they guarantee that everything keeps moving without anyone noticing from the other side of the counter.
When robots make mistakes, it’s humans who save them
The operation of this system depends on a peculiar alliance between companies from two countries. Telexistence, based in Tokyo, designs and manages the robots that operate in Japanese stores, relying on Microsoft and Nvidia platforms. From Manila, Astro Robotics runs the control room where technicians monitor and assist the machines. It’s an example of how chains keep their operations going in Tokyo thanks to a mix of robotics, connectivity and remote workforce.
Located at the heart of this operation, the TX SCARA model is a compact and fast robotic arm created to handle drinks in the narrow warehouses of Japanese stores. The system analyzes sales data to decide which products to replenish at any given time. If an error occurs, as we say, it switches to teleoperation mode.
The deployment of these robots began in 2022 and since then their presence has multiplied in Japanese stores. What started as a controlled test is today a stable operating system that keeps refrigerators stocked without interruptions. The adoption meets a clear need: Japan faces a chronic shortage of retail workers, exacerbated by an aging population. In this scenario, automation has become a strategy to sustain the service without expanding the human workforce.
Now, while Japan boasts advanced automation, part of its “efficiency” relies on Filipino workers who They charge between 250 and 315 dollars a monthaccording to Rest of World. It is the same amount that a call center agent earns, but with much more technical and demanding tasks. For Japanese companies, the model is ideal: robots that don’t ask for breaks and remote operators that cost a fraction of the local minimum wage. Innovation, in this case, also externalizes inequality.
The work of operators in Manila may seem simple, but it has its complexity. Each one monitors dozens of robots simultaneously and must react quickly when something goes wrong. The pressure to keep the flow constant is high, and shifts lengthen in front of multiple screens. In addition, the use of the virtual helmet can cause dizziness and disorientation after several minutes of use. All this, according to an employee who spoke with the aforementioned media.
Every move the operators make in Manila not only keeps the system running: it also teaches the robots to be more autonomous. Telexistence collects that teleoperation data to perfect artificial intelligence models that control the TX SCARA. The information is used to improve the machines’ coordination, grip and responsiveness. In June, the company announced a collaboration with the American startup Physical Intelligence to develop foundational models that give robots more human-like “physical intelligence.”
The rise of automation is not limited to Japan. On a global scale, the industry is advancing with unprecedented speed. The market for so-called “artificial intelligence agents”—programs capable of acting autonomously—could multiply by eight and reach almost $43 billion by 2030, projects the consulting firm MarkNtel Advisors.
What we can see is that the global demand for technological labor seems to be putting the Philippines in a strategic position. A Penbrothers report indicates that foreign companies are looking there technical talent at low cost for artificial intelligence, automation and robotics projects. Local professionals have access to more qualified jobs, but they continue to earn less than their counterparts in the United States or Europe.
The next step will be to see how far this collaboration between humans and machines goes. Telexistence plans to expand the number of connected stores and improve the autonomy of its robots, while experimenting with new gripping and handling systems. It will also be necessary to observe how the percentage of human intervention, still necessary today in part of the operations, evolves. Another key point will be the treatment of data generated in Manila, which feeds artificial intelligence models and raises questions about privacy and ownership of information.
Images | Telexistence
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