Goodbye Traditional Showers: This Futuristic Alternative Could Revolutionize Your Bath Routine

A long, luxurious bath at the end of the day is, for some, the one thing that washes away not just dirt, but stress. Ritualized with tea lights, a cup of chai, and an embarrassment of bubbles, the bath becomes the ultimate alone time. Showers have their place as a refreshing start to the workday, but they can't hold a candle to a long, hot bath. If you're a bath connoisseur, and if you have a spare $400,000 kicking around, say goodbye to your shower and install the Mirai Ningen Sentakki, or "Future Human Washing Machine" in English. This futuristic shower alternative claims to wash both body and mind and will undoubtedly add instant vacation spa luxury at home.

The Future Human Washing Machine was developed by the Japanese company Science Co. for the 2025 Osaka-Kansai Expo, a world-wide exhibition themed "Designing Future Society for Our Lives." However, the company never intended for it to be more than a demonstration of their forward-thinking product line. After the expo opened, show attendees began to ask the price of the machine and where they could buy one, so they made the decision to put it into production. The prototype pod-like unit is about 8 feet long and a little more than 3 feet wide, with a canopy that closes over the bather, leaving them encapsulated. Bathers recline on a comfy chaise-like surface, and large windows help to keep claustrophobia at bay during the 15-minute-long bath. 

Fast-moving jets of water containing tiny air bubbles bathe Human Washing Machine users as they relax in the chamber half-filled with warm, soapy water. The developers of the machine say that the unit does more than wash the skin. It creates a complete, immersive environment with relaxing music and videos selected to enhance the experience. There are no controls for the bather to operate — the machine fills with warm water automatically, adjusts the temperature, and chooses which videos and music are appropriate according to the bather's biometrics and mood, which it also monitors. While there's no spin cycle, the Human Washing Machine does rinse and dry the bather. Your only concern will be how many bath towels you will or won't need anymore.

The inventor of the Mirai Ningen Sentakkii, Yasuaki Aoyama, got the idea from a similar human washing machine that was introduced at the 1970 Japan World Expo. That machine used plastic massage balls, rather than tiny bubbles, to clean and relax the bather but was never produced commercially. Since the current version of the product is so new, it will probably be a while before it's widely available outside of Japan, and even longer before it's priced low enough for private homes. Science Co. expects to introduce more AI personalization as the Human Washing Machine evolves. You'll be able to operate your AI-powered robot vacuum while daydreaming in your AI-powered bathtub.