East Japan Railway Co. unveiled Monday autonomous disinfection and mobility robots at its recently opened high-tech station in Tokyo, as it aims to introduce them by March 2025. The cleaning robot, which was developed by Nippon Signal Co. and Cyberdyne Inc., sanitizes handrails, benches and other parts of Takanawa Gateway Station by spraying disinfectant. The artificial-intelligence equipped robot, Clinabo CL02, uses three-dimensional cameras and sensors to avoid obstacles. JR East said it is considering using the robot and other disinfection robots to be introduced later to sanitize the inside of train cars in the future. In another demonstration, a robot that looks like a Yamanote Line train car served coffee in a conference room at the station. Other robots that carry luggage, food and drinks, as well as personal mobility vehicles for transporting people inside and around the station are also being operated on a trial basis as part of a project showcasing the area around the new station.

East Japan Railway Co. on Monday unveiled autonomous disinfection and mobility robots at its recently opened high-tech station in Tokyo, as it aims to introduce them by March 2025. The cleaning robot, which was developed by Nippon Signal Co. and Cyberdyne Inc., sanitizes handrails, benches and other parts of Takanawa Gateway Station by spraying disinfectant. The artificial-intelligence equipped robot, Clinabo CL02, uses three-dimensional cameras and sensors to avoid obstacles. JR East said it is considering using the robot, and other disinfection robots to be introduced later, to sanitize the inside of train cars in the future. In another demonstration, a robot that looks like a Yamanote Line train car served coffee in a conference room at the station.

An unmanned convenience store began operations Monday at a recently opened station on Tokyo's Yamanote loop line, using artificial intelligence not just to allow speedy self-checkouts but to also prevent shoplifting. The store is a key feature at the Takanawa Gateway Station, which opened on March 14 as the first new stop on the line in nearly 50 years. About 50 cameras installed inside the roughly 60-square-meter store identify every item customers pick up. The store's exit gates open once the customer makes a payment. The AI used at the shop has been trained to recognize customer behavior, including how items are carried, and it almost fully prevents shoplifting by accurately recognizing when merchandise is taken from shelves, according to its developer Touch To Go Co. Attempts in a demonstration to hide merchandise under clothes or avoid being seen on the cameras while stashing it in a bag were all detected.

The Yamanote Line's first new station since 1971 was unveiled to the media on Monday, with East Japan Railway Co. showcasing robots and other "futuristic" features to help people find their way around. Takanawa Gateway Station, situated in Minato Ward's Konan district between Shinagawa and Tamachi stations, will officially open to the public on Saturday. It is the 30th station on Tokyo's heavily used loop line and the first since Nishi-Nippori Station back in 1971. The station will also serve the JR Keihin Tohoku Line running from Saitama Prefecture to Kawasaki and Yokohama. "We aim to function as a gateway connecting Tokyo and the world at an area that has good traffic accessibility," said Mie Miwa, a JR East official involved in the project.

East Japan Railway Co. said Tuesday a robotic guide utilizing artificial intelligence and an unstaffed convenience store will feature at a new station slated to open in Tokyo in April 2020. JR East hopes to make Takanawa Gateway Station on the Yamanote Line a model for its future stations by using cutting-edge technology, officials said. The new station is expected to attract many visitors because a public viewing site will be established there for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics. The robot and digital signs will provide station information in four languages: Japanese, English, Chinese and Korean. The station will also employ autonomous patrol and cleaning robots on a trial basis until September next year.