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Robotic Bubble Baths for Japan's Elderly
LukePieStalker writes "New York Times (open kimono before entering) is carrying an article on various robots that are being used in assisted living situations. In addition to mentioning the Wakamaru, the story has illustrations of a human washing machine and a description of robotic pants that help those with mobility problems. Apparently, the devices are considered the better choice in a country that is not inclined to grant working visas to foreigners. As Japan's population shrinks, will the robot population make up the difference?"
ii na-, The companies that I applied for didn't even have the courtesy to respond with a negative, they just ignored me, I called one places HR dept. to ask about what they wanted, and they just gave me the usual... I also love to see how the newspapers say things like ".....the violent crime problem which is caused by foreiners....." (on the bight side... I had to beat the girls off with a 2x4 ;-) )
Less look fast, more go fast.
We need to humanize the problem of the increasing elder population and stop talking about 'technical' solutions.
Loneliness can kill.
in Sri Lanka, and something like this would be very helpful for us. would save the problems you get with having to help people bathe themselves. all you have to do is lead them to the unit and help them in.. the machine does the rest.
this would save in time and labour as well as being more comfortable for the person being washed than having a human do it for them. it IS a pride thing, but people prefer to be helped into something like this than have the "stigma" of being so helpless that they need some one to wash them.
learn from yesterday, plan for tomorrow, party tonight
or one out of three ain't bad
This is so sad. They fail to have children, and then refuse to accept foreigners who need the jobs for a living. Then they want to make for children and robots? So recently entered modernity, and already decadent... the rest of the First World is decadent too, but at least has had some half a millenium of modernity.
I think it was a rabbi who said that a country without children is orphan. And I'd add that a rich country who refuse poor needy workers is without heart.
Leandro Guimarães Faria Corcete DUTRA
DA, DBA, SysAdmin, Data Modeller
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It is interesting to note a few things about it. If anyone has ever studied in Japan, particualrly at University level you will notice that many foreign students are from other Asian countries. In the past the majority of people were from Western countries. This is a direct result of Japan trying to improve its status in Asia (most other Asian still hate the Japanese). Also it is easier for students from Asian countries to get funding. This is nothing but a cynical attempt but Japanese authorities to "buy" improved Asian relations.
There is an interesting debate on Japan Today
The example I stated above maybe somewhat hard to prove, but you only have to talk to decedents of the Koreans left in Japan after WWII and the treatment and humiliation they suffer, even the ones who where born and have lived all their lives in Japan.
Of course this also reflects poorly in Korea, which also shuned such Koreans after the war.
Speaking from an Australian POV while it is harder these days to get a visa for Australia is still easier than getting one for Japan.
I certainly concided that racisism is rampart in many countries...
I, too, have had no problem getting work visas in Japan over the 15 years that I've been coming and going. On the other hand, I was teaching English or working at game companies or starting up my own companies, and I'm from the US, so visas magically appear on demand.
But do you really think that the same thing would happen for a S.E. Asian or African or Middle Eastern applicant who wanted to support themselves in Japan as an aide to the elderly, or as a housekeeper, or as anything else that could be performed by robots? Because that's exactly the kind of applicant you would have for that kind of work-- unskilled labor migrating to rich countries where such work is paid premium prices for.
Currently almost all foreign nonskilled-labor (mainly construction and dockwork) workers in Japan are there illegally. Generally they come in on tourist visas, and "forget" to go home. The big exception to the rule is foreign girls working in hostess bars/legal sex industry. Clubs are generally able to sponsor them for visas, and it's not an uncommon sight at immigration in Tokyo to see a Japanese club owner standing in line with 5-6 passports from the Phillipines, Thailand, and Russia.
CC-licensed translations of Japanese fiction: http://tonygonz.blogspot.com/
Gee, do 90% of the immigration office staff in your country speak Japanese? Fact is, the majority of foreign workers (legal or illegal) aren't English speakers!
Getting a re-entry permit is a pain. I know, I had to get a dozen or so when I was there. I also had to leave the country to change my visa (I came over on a working-holiday visa -- takes 2 weeks -- then switched to a work visa, then got a spouse visa when I married a Japanese), but she will have to do the same thing when she comes to Canada this summer.
And do you really think that waiting 4 months for a work visa is tough? They have to check for criminal records, previous visas, etc. Sure, it moves at the usual pace of anything in a bureaucracy, but they do have to MAKE SURE of the people they let into the country.