This paper describes with examples of some typical industrial robots developed in Japan the process of development, which industrial robots in Japan took. It also describes citing the differences of cultural basis between Japan and western countries the influences of automation to man, culture and society, and survey the future industrial robots.Social and cultural effects of industrial robots on human workers have occurred in the last 20 years. The recent explosion of microelectronics and robotic applications has cleared our understanding of both the gains and the risks: incompatibility with human physiological, psychological, and cultural characteristics; alienation from fulfillment and dignity in work; widening of the gap between skilled and unskilled workers, and between technologically developed and underdeveloped communities; decrement in individual and national security. Attention to these problems can ensure that automation by industrial robots results in a better society. The industrialist, who is responsible for enlarging the scale of automation, should also play a role in adapting it to people. For the time being, industrial robot technology should be individually designed to each culture.We have considered the history of the research and development for the automation technology, and have divided them into three stages: "equalization," "efficiency," and "humanization." These essential concepts of automation technology have been developed to realize the social equalization by the distribution of the technological merits. However, this kind of concept has gradually changed to the one of efficiency, because the automation technology has infused the economical oriented activities. Therefore, the conventional automation technology has only persuaded the industry to make the efficiency. In this situation, the modem technology or civilization has been reconsidered: How do we introduce the humanization to the mechanical automation systems? That is the essential concept of "adapting or flexible automation by industiral robots," and it should be adopted to man, culture, and society.The worker organizations in all countries have welcomed industrial robots because both productivity and worker safety can be increased. As a percentage of total effort, though the actual production phase requires less effort, the preparation planning, design and engineering-and after the product-inspection, transportation, marketing, installation, maintenance, etc.-require more as shown in Figure 2.Even though preparation and support have been found to require skill levels that are higher, insistent workers have demanded that they be retrained for the new jobs, and partake in decisions about how the industrial robot is introduced. The policy that transfers the workers from the production area is an important study.
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