“When I grow old and retire, I don’t want to be sitting in hospital surrounded by robots. I want to grow old with people. I want to be surrounded by people rather than robots.” -Journeyman Pictures, “The Age Bomb: Japan’s Aging Crisis”
Nationalmultimedia.com and dailytech.com
The first photo is of Panasonic’s HOSPI robot, which can assist the elderly in medication routines and most facets of everyday life. Even small plushie robots have been used to enhance daily interaction, promote activity, and decrease the risk of Alzheimers and other forms of dementia. The second photo is of HAL, an “iron-man” like robotic suit with the ability to lift heavy objects with ease.
dailytech.com
Not only is the population declining, but the elderly population within Japan is higher than ever. Recent studies suggest that 1 in 4 people in Japan are over the age of 65+. Since Post-Bubble Japan, the price of assisted living has skyrocketed, and staffing has been spread quite thin. As one of the most technologically advanced countries in the world, it is no surprise that robots are being used in order to help with the elderly boom.
The rise of urbanization is correlated with the rise of robotics, and the following abstracts reveal areas for robot aid as well as what a society with robots might look like.
Human and Robots Interaction: When Will Robots Come of Age?
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