Mar 3 2011
Japanese inventor, Kanou Masayoshi, has designed a therapeutic baby-bot to help Japan’s elderly, fight symptoms of depression. The Babyloid's inventor is focusing on bringing emotional responses in elderly patients with his robot.
Researchers in Japan have developed the Babyloid. Babyloid is a therapeutic robot designed specifically to relieve and treat symptoms of depression in the elderly.
Babyloid
The infant-like robot motivates patients to actively participate in a caring role that increases the patient’s self-worth. Researchers have found that the Babyloid is treated as a companion by the elderly. The therapeutic robot thus helps patients to feel distracted and free themselves from depression.
The therapeutic robot is a perfect blend of realistic and robotic looks. The Babyloid, 17 inches in length and 4.8 pounds in weight, appears very similar to a real baby.
The Babyloid can be simulated to reproduce human emotions using LED’s that create illusions of tears or red cheeks. The patients come closer to feeling realand personal emotions when playing with this robot. In addition, the robot is capable of wiggling its arms, blinking its eyes and opening its mouth. The Babyloid is already being used as a part of an experiment in Japan’s nursing homes.
Source: http://www.tomsguide.com/