Humanoid robot to maintain train lines in Japan

West Japan Railway has introduced a 12-meter high robot mounted on a truck to perform maintenance work on rails, including trimming tree branches and painting, The Guardian writes.

The large machine with enormous arms and a Wall-E-like head will be put to use for maintenance work on the company’s network.

Its operator sits in a cockpit on the truck, operating its powerful limbs and hands remotely.

The machine can use various attachments for its arms to carry objects as heavy as 40kg.

For now, the robot’s primary task will focus on trimming tree branches along rails and painting metal frames that hold cables above trains.