In Japan, Old People Talk to Robots

stupidfoo writes "AFP is reporting that, starting today, "Japan's growing elderly population will be able to buy companionship in the form of a 45-centimeter (18-inch) robot" designed to help them avoid senility. The robot, named Snuggling Ifbot and developed by Dream Supply, will be able to respond to verbal commands. "If a person tells Snuggling Ifbot, "I'm bored today," the robot might respond, "Are you bored? What do you want to do?"". It retails for 576,000 yen (5,600 dollars) and there is no English version currently available but "its makers plan to program the robot in English -- not for export, but to teach the language to Japanese children.""

I am not a doctor

[nick korma]

but how could this possibly be used to combat the onset of senility?? I can understand how the robot could be used to teach children or adults another language but old people telling the ipod that they are bored will not do anything to stop them forgetting where they live or where they left the car...

I envisioned this way back

[Max Romantschuk]

I decided way back that if technology allowed I'd want a virtual persona (themed like "Jeeves" in the English TV series) to keep track of things for me.

I'd love to be able to just look at any screen in the appartment and ask what I was supposed to do today, ask if there are any interesting news etc. A computer won't get bored with you asking for the nth time, and can alert someone if you don't take your medicine. If technology allows, why burden our children? They can come over to visit instead of taking care of you.

I'm not sure I'd want a robot though. Face-in-the-TV is more my style. Think Max Headroom, only with class ;)

Re:I am not a doctor

[Max Romantschuk]

but how could this possibly be used to combat the onset of senility?

Studies have shown that passively sitting around not talking to anyone all day doesn't exactly help your brain keep in shape. (You have to exercise it, you know? Seriously.)

Avoiding regrets

[Anonymous Coward]

When I went to law school, My wife and I visited my 86-year-old grandfather on the weekends. I was never politically correct and we had some good arguments. Even more interesting was when I started doing family research and collected all his stories then went out and found stories even he didn't know.

Even so, he was waiting to die for the last decade or so of his life. At least, at his funeral, my other relatives came up to me and said how much he enjoyed our talks.

I can see my own parents tottering on the same brink. I think it all comes out of spending your entire life doing meaningless labour to make other people rich. If we took more risks to do what we loved, we might suffer more hardship and live shorter lives, but it would be a more interesting ride with fewer regrets.

Believe me, the question he asked most in his last days were what was his whole life about and what good was anything he had done. And he'd been a Baptist minister his whole life.

Re:Actual Rest Home Conversations

[LabRat007]

"Those are the robots they're giving to Japanese old people!?!"

You see, by eliminating any of the old Japanese people who succumb to senility, desptie Snuggly Ifbot tell them otherwise, they keep their success rate at 100%. The will of course eventually lead to a "happy" version of the robot that will eradiate all sorrow on earth.

Let me be the first to say how very very happy I am at these developments. SO VERY HAPPY...