Japanese firms are betting on robots to look after our ageing populations in the future

Robot carers will be the next big thing coming out of Japan, if Toyota, Honda and other firms ploughing money into robo-helpers are to be believed.

From robotic toys that simulate pets for companionship, to big mechanical bears that can physically carry you between beds and wheelchairs – all with a friendly smile – the robots aren’t only coming to take your jobs, but to take care of older people too.

Japan’s Honda is arguably one of the world’s leaders in at-home robotics, with Asimo its flagship mini-humanoid. But now Japanese automotive firm Toyota is attempting to thrust itself into the growing market of robotic caring with a Silicon Valley partnership.

Akifumi Tamaoki, general manager of Toyota’s partner robot division said: “We are preparing for a future in which people may not be able to drive cars, or they may need artificial intelligence to support them to drive, and once they get off their cars they may need help from partner robots.”

Toyota has ploughed $1bn into a Silicon Valley robotics company headed by former DARPA robotics expert Gill Pratt, while setting up links with both Stanford University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

At the moment, only 150 out of 300,000 staff at the world’s largest car maker are robotics engineers, but Toyota has had partner robots – wheeled automatons that resemble R2-D2 from Star Wars, loaded with sensors and arms – since 2012.

The company is also partnering with 10 Japanese universities and believes it can turn the technology developed for manufacturing cars into something useful for aiding an ageing population.

Robots all around us

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Good morning, shall I lift you out of bed?

Robot taxis are already being trialed in Japan that can take people from their homes to the shops in remote locations. In Singapore, a robot coach is being used to help whip older people into shape. They’re even running hotels and repairing our cities while we sleep.

Whether a human touch is needed remains a case for debate, with some rejecting the very thought of a robot looking after them in their old age.

But as people live longer and populations age, while the money for long-term care starts to dry up, robots may be the only answer that is both economic and effective.

Whether that takes the form of a do-it-all robot that can do the cooking and cleaning for you, like the Mr. Handy from the popular Fallout series, or a robotic pet that gives people companionship without the pain of having to care for a living thing, remains to be seen.

A bear-shaped robot might be the first thing you see in the morning, as it lifts you out of bed.