Japanese see more robots in everyday life - Feature

Tokyo - At a supermarket in Kyoto, a robot that looks like something out of a Star Wars movie was introduced in early December to help elderly shoppers. A shopper can send a shopping list from her remote control to a robot in advance. When she arrives at the supermarket, the robot greets her at the entrance, helps locate the items on the list and even gives some suggestions on shopping.

The roboshopper is a recent version developed by ATR (Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute International) Intelligent Robotics and Communication Laboratories in Kyoto.

And it is also a reminder that the robot revolution in Japan has started to move from the factory floor to places like supermarkets, homes and hospitals.

Japan is home to almost half the world's 800,000 factory robots, however, technological progress has helped various kinds of robots emerge, including ones that clean floors, pour drinks, serve sushi, slice vegetables, act in plays, function as security guards and even plant rice paddies.

Narito Hosomi, president of Toyo Riki Co Ltd in Osaka, started producing communication robots four years ago. His company has designed and manufactured industrial robots for nearly half a century.

The company developed a robot that can help patients' rehabilitation as a shortage of caregivers poses a growing problem in Japan's aging society. Another robot, looking like a manga character, welcomes visitors as a "guard" at a hospital entrance at night.

"I just wanted to contribute to society by turning to robots to help resolve issues of aging," Hosomi said.

Japan's population of those aged 65 years and older is expected to climb to 31.8 per cent of the total by 2030, according to the National Institute of Population and Social Security Research.

Hosomi also showcased a robo-chef, spatula in hand, which flipped Japanese pancakes at recent expos while Secom, a security-service corporation, also manufactured a robot called "My Spoon" that helped disabled people eat a meal.

Norihiro Hagita, director of the ATR, said more robots help people including senior citizens and the physically-challenged with everyday chores. He said humans are beginning to alter the relationship between man and machine.

When you tried to enter a factory where industrial robots operate, you were told not to go in, Hagita said. But, like the elderly shopper who got help from a robot, "we see more humans networking with communication robots these days."

Curt Stone, an expert at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, said humans had yet to redefine their relationship with machines.

"If we are going to change that relationship, a machine has to be able to react like a person to what another person wants," Stone said.

Many people learned how to use machines and computers and it is machines that "try to understand" how humans behave and what humans are saying, Hagita said. "Robot research means researching humans themselves."

Unlike robots many Japanese people see in the movies and comics, a robot does not have to be a physical embodiment, Stone said.

"A robot is not just a machine," Stone argued. "But it's a system behind it, where we move from a humanoid robot in your home to your cell phone, to your car and to a grocery store, and it follows you around. The entire system is a robot."

"We see robots as media just like a mobile phone," Hagita said. "And just like a mobile phone, robots would be indispensable in future."

An increasing number of Japanese seem to readily show their interest in robots. The international robot exhibition held in Tokyo in late November drew 100,000 visitors in four days. Organizers said the biennial event has been attracting ever larger crowds in recent years.

"Many Japanese people got familiar with manga characters in their childhood," Hosomi said. "I think that contributes a sense of affinity to robots."

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/301450,japanese-see-more-robots-in-everyday-life--feature.html.