The Japanese sure do love their robots, don’t they? It seems like every couple of months there’s a new robo-creation being unveiled to the public, sprung from the minds of Japan’s master robotic engineers. Today, we’d like to introduce you to this cute little trundling yellow fella, Yuki Taro! As we all know, winter is coming (we should probably say “winter is here”, but that has less dramatic punch) and with it a flurry of snowstorms and bad weather that can seriously disrupt people’s lives. And who really has the time or energy to shovel snow all day?

Enter Yuki Taro. This snow-gobbling little guy is here to make all your problems melt away – as long as they’re snow-related, that is…

Yuki Taro, whose name translates to “Snow Taro” (Taro being a boy’s name) is an innovative little ‘bot who “eats” snow, compacts it inside its stomach, and then “poops” it out into ergonomical little blocks, which it then proceeds to neatly stack in piles like a scatologically-fixated squirrel.  In this way, Yuki Taro efficiently clears the streets of bothersome snow.

Yuki Taro is completely self-automated, and uses a GPS system to navigate along streets and around parked cars. Now, in case you’re filled with images of potential carnage caused by a small child blithely toddling in the way of Yuki Taro’s munching jaws, fear not! Yuki Taro is a snowtarian (noun: one who eats only snow and snow-derived products) and is able to recognize human obstacles in its path and re-navigate accordingly, thanks to its stereo vision and infrared sensor.

Netizens have been charmed by Yuki Taro’s dedication to its regimen of eating, pooping and stacking snow, as well as by its whimsical face. Just look at those friendly features! …What’s that? He looks a touch demented? Well, now you mention it…

▼　Yuki Taro: eater of snow, dreams, souls…

Check out Yuki Taro in action below!

Source: Karapaia.livedoor.biz
Images: screenshots via YouTube