TOKYO: Mira Robotics developed its Ugo robot to reinforce greying Japan’s shrinking workforce, but as the coronavirus threat persists, the Japanese start-up is offering its machine as a tool in the fight against the outbreak, the company’s CEO said.

“The coronavirus has created a need for robots because they can reduce direct contact between people,” Ken Matsui told Reuters at his company’s workshop in Kawasaki, near Tokyo. “We’ve had inquiries from overseas, including from Singapore and France.” …