Tokyo - They can dance, play the trumpet, serve drinks and generally make themselves useful around the home. Robots may appear to belong to a science fiction future in many parts of the world, but in Japan they are increasingly a contemporary reality.
Japanese scientists and inventors are developing industrial robots to the level where they are ready to tend to our daily needs.
According to their vision, whole armies of these plastic and metal creatures will not only work ceaselessly in factories but will care for and console their human partners in the home and wherever else they are needed.
Continues Below ↓
They will clean up at home and look after the elderly.
| They will clean up at home and look after the elderly |
The electronic firm Matsushita Electric is currently developing robots that will be able to clear the table and wash the dishes.
"As a result of the rising number of older people in Japan, demand for machines of this kind is set to rise," a company spokesperson says.
One of the prototypes is already able to carry heavy objects while following their human master or mistress.
Matsushita researchers are using technologies that have thus far been used only in industry, but they are dreaming of metal creatures capable of helping people in all sorts of areas, such as security and even keeping them company on lonely evenings.
This no longer lies in the distant future. Matsushita's programme is expected to bear fruit by 2010 to the extent that these robots will by then be carrying out practical tasks.
| 'These metal creatures are able to ease the lot of humanity' |
Experts expect that the robots will begin to conquer world markets at the 2005 Expo international exhibition in Japan's Aichi Province.
A hundred robots of the next generation will show off their capabilities at the exhibition, which begins on March 25 next year, among them robots that could help as babysitters or reception personnel.
They can talk and offer wheelchairs to the aged and disabled.
Japanese motoring giant Toyota will also display its robots that walk upright on two legs and can play the trumpet.
A research team at Meiji University has compiled a data bank with 250 000 words and phrases with the aim of making humanoids - human-like robots - more intelligent.
They based their list on frequent use of the Internet. The aim is that the robots will be in a position to assess the effects of certain phrases before they initiate any action, according to the Nihon Keizai Shimbun financial daily.
For example, robots delegated to working with the aged will avoid references to old age and disease.
The aim for many working in this field is not so much to replace carers looking after the elderly when they ultimately need care, but to allow older people to look after themselves in their own homes for longer, thus retaining their independence.
Many in the west regard robots as potentially threatening, as revealed in films in which robots try to take over the world - even succeeding in some cases.
In Japan, by contrast, robots have a positive image in popular culture, which may be a reason why the Japanese have been able to make such progress in robotics.
"These metal creatures are able to ease the lot of humanity and reduce our cares," says Toshitada Doi, a senior manager at the electronics giant Sony.
Doi is the spiritual father of the famous canine robot Aibo. - Sapa-dpa
|
StumbleUpon
Reddit
Digg
Delicious
Newsvine
Facebook
muti
Twitter
