The ultimate branding for high-tech companies like automotive manufactures is to

show the world the "future" of their technology.

Kirobo is a verbal communication robot. Using his artificial intelligence, voice recognition, and natural language processing capabilities, Kirobo can hold a conversation with humans. And for the first time in history, we sent this robot to the International Space Station (ISS).

The objective of this project is to demonstrate the future that the companies involved can offer to the people of the world, especially to children, and to create an emotional connection with this future.

Toyota has been researching technology for auto-mobiles and also supporting and enhancing human life, as with this robot. They contributed to this project with their latest voice recognition software.

Robo Garage and the University of Tokyo worked together on the development of the hardware and mechanical movements, enabling Kirobo to coexist in space with humans.

The agency created conversation content that sounds natural to humans, using their communication knowledge and human insights.

Working over nine months, with hundreds of trial-and-error prototypes, developing a system that enables communication with astronauts, numerous tests with over 14 criteria, and ten zero-gravity zone experiments, we were able to design a robot capable of working in space.

And we sent Kirobo to the International Space Station on August 4, 2013. And on December 6, the ISS Commander and Kirobo successfully held the first experimental conversation between a person and a robot in outer space.

We considered the International Space Station to be a form of media. This was the media we would use to show our vision of conversation between people and robots to the world.

The team spent nine months developing hundreds of prototypes, a system that enables communication with astronauts, ten no-gravity zone experiments, and testing with 14 criteria, including noise, vibration, and drop tests. The advertising agency developed natural conversation content.

Finally, on August 4th, 2013, Kirobo became the first humanoid robot to reach space. Press conferences and events were held throughout Japan both before and after the launch. Videos of Kirobo, from the production and testing stages to his chats in space, were posted to YouTube and the project website.

With the cooperation of Toyota, Robo Garage and Tokyo University, our goals for mass coverage and awareness were surpassed.

Results in numbers:

1) Reported in 20,000 media publications worldwide, including CNN, NBC, and BBC.

2) Awareness rate for Kirobo in Japan reaches 59.3%.

3) 31,000,000 views on YouTube in Google Zeitgeist 2013.

Sample media coverage:

“The android astronaut is intended to push the boundaries of human and robot interaction”

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS TIMES

“Kirobo Takes Giant Leap for Robots”

BLOOMBERG TELEVISION

“World’s first robot astronaut makes space station small talk”

TIME