The robot, dubbed the “Power Loader” after its Hollywood counterpart, uses 18 electromagnetic motors with direct force feedback that allow the human operator to control its behavior.

“Most robot researchers think that robots should move as automatically as possible with very little human instruction,” Mr Shirogauchi said.

“What we are developing is a robot which moves only when an instruction is given from a human and moves exactly according to that instruction.”

The robot’s primary purpose is construction and comes with interchangeable parts to adapt to any situation.