Osaka-based showerhead maker Science Co. has developed a cutting-edge washing machine for humans aptly named “Mirai Ningen Sentakuki” (Human Washing Machine of the Future).

At the 1970 Osaka Kansai Expo, Japanese tech giant Sanyo Electric Co., now Panasonic Holdings Corp., launched the world’s first-ever human washing machine. Its futuristic egg shape and bubble technology captured people’s imagination and drew huge crowds to the manufacturer’s booth. Yasuaki Aoyama was one of the many people who got to see Sanyo’s washing machine in action. He was only a curious fourth-grader at the time, but the feeling of awe stuck with him all through adulthood, and today, as the chairman of Science Co., a company specializing in bathtubs and showerheads, he is preparing to launch his very own modern washing machine for humans.

“We will offer a new human washing machine as a legacy from the 1970 expo,” Aoyama recently told Japanese reporters, adding that the updated model will be showcased during the Osaka Kansai Expo in April 2025.

The original human washing machine used ultrasounds created by large air bubbles to clean the user and released plastic balls as a way to massage them. The Human Washing Machine of the Future, on the other hand, uses small, microscopic air bubbles that are much more efficient when it comes to cleaning the body, as well as state-of-the-art sensors that measure the person’s pulse and other biological data in order to heat the water just right, and an AI system that determines whether the user is calm or excited and the projects images on the transparent cover of the washing machine to get them in the right mood.

We have yet to see Science Co.’s human washing machine in action, but the company says that the cockpit-shaped device partially fills with hot water when the bather sits in the central seat, and then millions of microscopic bubbles are released to clean the user’s body. Yasuaki Aoyama said that his company hopes to allow up to 1,000 people to use the innovative washing machine during next year’s Osaka Expo.

Science Co. has been working on its human washing machine for a few years now. We first wrote about it in 2022, and while the design of the original prototype has changed considerably, it’s worth mentioning that the company respected its original launch target of 2025.