OryLab launches with Aarhus kommune,first Overseas Bunshin Robot Café in Aarhus, Denmark “Bunshin Robot Cafe Øens Madhus” Opens April 2, 2025 | OryLab（オリィ研究所）テクノロジーの力で「不可能を可能に変えていく」

OryLab launches with Aarhus kommune,
first Overseas Bunshin Robot Café in Aarhus,
Denmark “Bunshin Robot Cafe Øens Madhus”
Opens April 2, 2025

Aarhus

— Empowering Local OriHime Pilots Through Remote Work —

OryLab Inc. (headquartered in Chuo-ku, Tokyo;Ory Yoshifuji(CVO) and Masahiro Sasayama(CEO) , which develops and provides bunshin robots such as “OriHime” based on its founding philosophy of “resolving human loneliness,” has announced that “DAWN ver.β (Dawn Version Beta),” a robot cafe where people with severe disabilities or intractable diseases who have difficulty going out operate bunshin robots to serve customers, will be held as a limited-time cafe in Aarhus, Denmark. This marks the first overseas expansion of the bunshin robot cafe concept.(Bunshin Robot Cafe Øens Madhus)

　The event in Aarhus will be held for six months from Wednesday, April 2, 2025, to Tuesday, September 30, 2025. The venue is the social dining establishment “Øens Madhus” located on Aarhus Ø (Aarhus Island) based on the DAWN ver.β bunshin robot café operated by our company in Nihonbashi, Tokyo, this café will enable social participation for individuals who have difficulty leaving their homes due to illness or disability. These individuals will become part of the Øens Madhus staff by remotely operating the bunshin robot “OriHime.”

Bunshin is a japanese word meaning to split the body in one or more entities equal to the original, the robot allows for the pilot to be in two bodies at the same time. The OriHime is a wheelchair for the soul and can carry this online split of the pilot!

This pop-up café was developed in collaboration with the health, welfare, and social employment sectors of Aarhus Municipality, the social enterprise Teknologi i Praksis and FO-Aarhus. The “Bunshin Robot Café,” first of its kind outside of Japan, aims to provide a warm café experience where Aarhus citizens, including the elderly and families with children, can feel the presence of others.

Our company, with the mission of “resolving human loneliness,” has launched a new global expansion team in conjunction with this event in Denmark. We will continue to expand our business internationally to address the issue of “human loneliness,” which is now recognized as a global challenge.

【Background of the Denmark Launch】

OryLab has been engaged in academic exchange and joint research with Danish universities using the bunshin robot OriHime since 2016. These efforts have now culminated in the opening of the first bunshin robot café in Aarhus, Denmark. Since the launch of our first bunshin robot café in 2021, we have welcomed many visitors from Denmark, including representatives from the Danish Embassy in Tokyo and several Danish delegations that all have shown great interest in bringing the concept to Denmark.

Denmark was selected as the location for our first overseas café due to its reputation as a global leader in welfare and its advanced use of technology in the care sector. The country consistently ranks high in the World Happiness Report and is known for its strong social welfare system, inclusive working environments, and culture of active social participation. The Danish concept of “hygge,” which celebrates small, everyday joys and meaningful human connections, aligns closely with OryLab’s mission to reduce loneliness through technology. We believe there is much to learn from Denmark’s societal values and environment.

As part of this overseas expansion, the project has hired individuals in Aarhus who face mobility challenges and have limited opportunities for social participation. They will receive training as OriHime pilots, supported by experienced pilots from our café in Japan.

Our goal is to create a place that becomes a cherished part of the Aarhus community — a place where people can experience a new, inclusive way of working through bunshin robots, fostering a sense of collegiality that transcends physical distance.

【Co-founder and CVO of OryLab Inc. Ory Yoshifuji】

Since our founding in 2012, we have upheld the mission of “eliminating human loneliness” and have continued to take on the global challenge of loneliness — an issue that now affects people all over the world. Back in 2016, when OriHime was first introduced at the Embassy of Denmark, we began ongoing discussions with Danish colleagues and government officials around the theme of “eliminating loneliness.” Ever since, we’ve been preparing carefully and thoughtfully, with the dream of launching our first international initiative in Denmark.Today, we are thrilled to announce the launch of our very first overseas project — the “Bunshin Robot Cafe Øens Madhus” in Aarhus, Denmark. At this café, local individuals in Denmark who face physical mobility challenges will receive training to become OriHime pilots. They will work alongside our experienced Japanese OriHime pilots, who regularly collaborate with us, to serve customers together. Can people who are unable to leave their homes share the same workplace with teammates from over 8,000 kilometers away — all through the telepresence robot OriHime — and together create a joyful experience for guests? This marks the beginning of a new challenge and a new phase of our research. No matter one’s physical condition, birthplace, geographic distance, or even language, we aim to create a world where people are freed from loneliness. And we will continue moving forward, determined to open up new possibilities for social connectivity.

【Head of DokkX: Kirsten Rud Bentholm】

We at Teknologi i Praksis are incredibly happy to be a part of the innovative ‘Bunshin RobotCafé’ in Aarhus – happening outside of Japan for the first time.

It means a lot for a social enterprise like ours to help create new technological opportunities for people with disabilities, enabling them to be part of society on equal terms with others, thereby preventing loneliness and exclusion.We look forward to following the project to its completion and gaining experience with the potential of Orihime robots both as robot servers and as tools in other industries, where people can perform job functions remotely. We have been collaborating with Orylab for several years and are pleased with the continued positive and evolving partnership.

【Bunshin Robot Cafe in Aarhus】

【Øens Madhus】

https://www.oensmadhus.dk

https://www.instagram.com/oensmadhus