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Japanese Deploying Powered Exoskeletons for Elderly
FoeNyx writes "The AFP is reporting that 30 Tokyo firms have planned to set up a joint-venture in next spring to market an 'exo-skeleton type power assist system' named HAL (Hybrid Assistive Leg) developed by Yoshiyuki Sankai, professor and engineer at the Sankai Lab, a Cybernetics specialized Laboratory of the Tsukuba University. When will the next generation be available?" The elderly with their exoskeletons and the bionic nurses will make quite a sight at Japanese nursing homes.
The good news is this will give far more mobility to the elderly.
The bad news is that the computer runs Linux** and as such the elderly will need to pay SCO $699* every time they go for a walk
*Introductory price only, increases after October 15th, 2003
**This is a joke, it probably doesn't
As seen here, Dr. Stephen Hawking, one of the smartest people in the world, has already perfected an exoskeleton for the disabled.
I want to delete my account but Slashdot doesn't allow it.
The Japanese should know better than to give the elderly access to powered exoskeletons.
-Colin
Anyone reminded of the wrong trousers?
Wallace And Gromit
Imagine one of those exoskeletons going on a mad rampage with a pensioner
I spent ages trying to think of sig, but never did
But this exo-skeleton does nothing really to solve that problem. In fact, it can even make the falling problem even more severe, by allowing people that have lost their sense of balance to walk. Just like the fact that some old folks shouldn't be driving, some should not be walking, for their own safety.
Well this is exactly the problem. To slightly overstate the situation, there are no nursing homes in Japan. By which, I mean there are no transitional communities for the aged, no communities for the aged which retain a certain independence and dignity, nothing, nada, zilch. The traditional Japanese approach to the aged is that the oldest daughter in the family looks after the parents. Right now, the system is going titsup.com faster than you would believe because, firstly, all the daughters lived at home and delayed marrying as long as possible because their disposable income far exceeds what they can expect as a newlywed (there are entire cruise lines in Japan targeting women only), and secondly when they do marry, they move away from home and rarely return.
There's no sensible infrastructure for looking after the aged in Japan. There are an infinite number of token gestures, such as buttons at train stations so staff will rush to place a small ramp on the platform so a chairbound person can get on, all trains have a seat-free area for a wheelchair, but there is nothing that offers older people the ability to live at home for as long as possible and then transition to a managed facility.
To cope with this, industry is targeting older people partly because it is a growth market, and partly as a defensive survival tactic since the birthrate continues to decline. This can be seen in a range of products, such as hot water pots (ubiquitous in Japan) that phone home when the usage pattern changes, and small robotic pets that don't do a great deal but offer comfort and, again, have the ability to detect changes in usage patterns and transmit a warning.
I figure building exoskeletons for everyone that needs one in Japan is probably cheaper than building the infrastructure everyone thought they were paying for with their compulsory pension fees.
To witter on further and doom myself to be off-topic, consider this:
A lady in an aged facility has a problem with her stomach. The facility has a doctor on call, who has no skill in that area.
A family member decides a consultation is needed, so arranges for the lady to get scanned and have followup treatment, since stomach cancer is endemic in Japan.
The facility can't accept that, and insists the lady is removed from the facility 24 hours before any consultation not arranged by their own doctor and returned at least 24 hours after the consultation, to protect the dignity of the doctor.
Well, color me unimpressed, but if manufacturers in Japan make exoskeletons, emotion-surrogate robots, kitchen equipment that monitors daily patterns and anything else like that, it's fine by me, no matter how many westerners snigger.
Home Automation & Linux -- now I know I'm a geek