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« Time and Time Enough | Main | Blanchard WinsdDays »

November 12, 2008 |Permalink |Comments (4)

Robotic Care

A Japanese research group consisting of University of Tokyo and Toyota Motor Company invented a robot that can perform household tasks at home. This robot can complete daily tasks including laundry, carrying dishes on the tray, or cleaning.

According to the researchers, they developed this robot to help elders who live alone. Users can program this robot to perform certain tasks in advance, so that necessary daily household tasks can be completed for them.
It is projected that this robot will be available for commercial use in ten years with more sophisticated functions, and the price will be about $10,000.
When I saw this press release, I was a bit worried about the future prospects of elder care in Japan.
Although we need help to complete our daily tasks in order to age in place, we need much more than that to feel our life is worth living. What we need can be as simple as having a cup of coffee with others once in a while. This robot can serve a cup of coffee for me, but it cannot replace the person who sits in front of me and chats with me. (I do not think that I would enjoy talking to a robot every day…)
This robot is a great invention from a functional point of view, yet we should also be mindful about meeting elders’ “emotional needs.”
Can anyone develop a “meaningful relationship” with a robot?

Comments ( 4)

I think the more we can mechanize the already highly mechanical and perfunctory tasks of caregiving in institutional settings the better! Could there be a better way to decrease staff turnover in the old age archipelago than to make them robots? Certainly the help they give would be well received by elders, but the human need to give care would be completely lost in this scenario. I don't think loving up to robo-caregiver will satisfy that critical need.

Posted by Nich
November 18, 2008 8:05 AM

I am strongly against the robot approach. What ever happened to human companionship and affection. You can't develop a "relationship" with something that has no feelings...Talk about a declinest approach. What's their next suggestion, children should be raised by robots?

Posted by Stacey
November 19, 2008 9:01 PM

I would agree, mechanized health care is quite valuable considering the small room for error in most medical procedures.

Posted by The Austin DJ
November 20, 2008 1:33 PM

I believe as robotics advances, the ability of machines to replicate human interaction will also increase.

Posted by The Houston Electrician
November 26, 2008 12:08 PM

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