A futuristic vision is on display at the Japan Mobility Show, demonstrating how technology can be used to help and even replace humans in a country short of workers and prone to disasters.

Godzilla, who has unleashed catastrophe in Japanese disaster films since the 1950s, is responsible for unleashing the imaginary tragedy.

The elderly make up nearly 30% of the population in Japan. As the population declines, fewer and fewer people are available for dangerous tasks, says Tomoyuki Izu, founder of Attraclab, a start-up specializing in autonomous vehicles.

Izu, 61, told AFP that his machines are intended to help people such as firefighters.

In addition to the small delivery robot squeezing through cardboard rubble at the Japan Mobility Show, Attraclab designed the remote-control stretcher on wheels.

In the meantime, the Japanese government is relying on “traditional equipment” for relief efforts, he said at the event. The market for advanced technology will, however, grow in the future, according to Izu.

“Anime with humanoid robots is popular in Japan, so people are attracted to them. However, they still find autonomous vehicles very strange,” he said.

In 2016, Japan’s Kawasaki Heavy Industries (KHI) developed Kaleido, a robust humanoid robot capable of lifting and moving injured people.