Thought the Japanese toilet was advanced?
Japanese showerhead firm Science Co. has put the “pod” in “Tide pod” after inventing an AI-powered “washing machine of the future” that is purported to give people the ultimate bath.
“We’re about 70% there,” said company Chairman Yasuaki Aoyama while discussing when the device will be available at a lecture at the Osaka Healthcare Pavilion in late October, Japanese publication Ashahi Shimbun reported.
Dubbed the “Mirai Ningen Sentakuki,” the cutting-edge shower capsule is completely enclosed like a hygiene-based cryogenic chamber and takes just 15 minutes to wash and dry the user.
After the user steps into the center seat, the transparent cockpit-like contraption fills partway with water, as demonstrated in a viral YouTube video.
Sensors embedded in the seat then measure the person’s pulse and other biological metrics to make sure the user is bathed at the ideal temperature.
They’re then blasted by highspeed water jets harboring 3-micrometer-wide air bubbles, the Daily Mail reported.
When those pop, they produce a small but powerful pressure wave that scours grime from the skin — the same process used to clean electrical components that can’t be washed with chemicals.
Just like so many things nowadays from smartphones to restaurants, the wash pod offers far more than its primary function.
In this case, an innovative artificial intelligence system AI analyzes the aforementioned biomarkers to see if the customer is calm or excited and then projects a specially chosen video onto the plastic pod’s interior to calm their nerves.
As a result, the user receives a psychological deep-clean to go with the physical one, the company claims.
This technology might seem cutting-edge, but it’s actually a case of rinse and repeat: It’s based on a machine exhibited at the 1970 Japan World Exposition by the Sanyo Electric Co., now Panasonic Holdings Corp.
That tech, dubbed the Ultrasonic Bath, also filled with water when the user climbed in, then released ultrasound waves as well as plastic balls to massage the bather’s body.
While the device never took off, Aoyama — who waited in line as a fourth grader to try the bath at that time — was inspired to create his own automated people scrubber.
“It made me excited, thinking about what kind of future there would be,” said the bathtub boss. “We will offer a new human washing machine as a legacy from the 1970 expo.”
Just like with its predecessor, he plans to exhibit the Mirai Ningen Sentakuki in April at Expo 2025 in Osaka, where 1,000 people will get to give the state-of-the-art scrubber a whirl.
The company is already accepting reservations for the automated bathtub on its website.
But don’t worry if you can’t jet to Osaka to try it out — the company is planning to debut a home edition in the future.
