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Robotic Baby Seal Wins Top Award
SilentOneNCW writes "The BBC has an article up about everyone's favourite creature — the robotic baby seal. This seal, called Paro, is fitted with sensors beneath its fur and whiskers that allow it to respond to petting. The idea is that by utilizing these sensors and flapping its arms, it can engage in therapy for older patients in nursing homes. It has won a service prize from the Japanese government sponsored Robot Awards 2006. The awards were set up earlier this year by the Japanese government to promote research and development in the robotics industry. Robots are widely used in Japan and are seen as a way to help deal with an aging population, maintaining the labour force and helping care for the elderly."
I for one welcome our robotic baby seal overlords. And I would just like to let them know that if they need an expert slave driver to make sure people keep petting them, I'm highly qualified.
they dont damnit
Or do regular clubs work?
The idea is that by utilizing these sensors and flapping its arms, it can engage in therapy for older patients in nursing homes.
That's a good start. Now how about a lap dance?
With Japan's growing elderly population, now they can interact with a baby harp seal as per usual.
The other robot in the article I can forsee stabbing stubborn old people in the face with a spoonful of peas, finally we have a viable alternative to passively torturing our old people, the game of "hide the dentures" was getting a bit boring.
Error 407 - No creative sig found
If there a pet shortage in Japan? Dogs/Cats also respond realistically when you interact with them. I might understand how they favor robots over unskilled immigrants for manual labor, but why subject the elderly to robot baby seals?!?
... also, I can kill you with my brain.
Nothing in the article seems that advanced. We had a spoon feeding robot for yrs in my grad school lab. The Rumba has been out for a while and the seal seems straight forward.
It is interesting to see how different the robotics field is between the US and Japan. The US focuses on UAV's and others for the defense department/DHS or the space program. While the Japanese focus on human robotic interaction and humanoid robots.
It's a very nice idea, mainly because baby seals are very cute creatures and because real seals smell really bad.
My girlfriend tells me a story that when she went to Namibia, she went to see a beach where seals were having a sunbath. She had to throw away the clothes she was wearing that day because the smell would not come off.
I can't imagine the bad breath of a whale that eats these things.
http://www.dieblinkenlights.com
I hope I never grow old.
If they are condescending enough expect to stick me in some hole in the wall and pet a friggen robot doll, I'd tell them where they can shove it.
Well, unless they give me the source and a computer to hack it, then we may be able to talk. Throw in a deadly laser beam to stick on it's head and I just might wet myself.
I bet they had to ban all Canucks for fear of them clubbing it.
Prof. Farnsworth - "Oh a lesson in not changing history from Mr I'm-My-Own-Grandpa!"
What are you?
I'm a robot baby seal! I do cute, people things with my hands!
You're free to go. Next! What are you?
I'm a cow.
Get in the truck.
But I can...
I SAID GET IN THE F-ING TRUCK!
(ya, I changed it a bit)
It's a decoy for the Canadian seal hunters, or target practice, whichever angle you choose to look at it from.
dream of electronic baby fishes ? and when will we get a "So long and thanks for all the ...electronic fish ?"
"allow it to respond to petting"
Could they maybe make one of those attractive robotic girls that does this? It would make the perfect companion for the average slashdot reader.
I, for one, welcome our new ultra-cute-robotic-baby-seal overlords.
What a low opinion the Japanese have for their elderly, to think that robot seals could be a substitute for genuine affection. If anyone sticks me in a room with crap like this, I'll CLUB them with the robot baby seal the next time they come and visit!
Don't blame me, I didn't vote for either of them!
Thank the lord the BBC is spending my tax money researching these key issues! What would we do without you?
...so a baby seal walks into a club.
How about you make a robotic Penguin...and make sure that it can run Linux.
Just remember folks, robots are our friends. Just watch out for the cute ones.
Knowledge is how to play a game, intelligence is how to win, wisdom is knowing what game to play.
what happens when you hit it with a stick?
Ok, I understand that some people want to pet a stuffed toy and pretend that it's a baby seal. I mean actually do this more than once.
Let's say that this applies to say, 1% of the population.
Ok, now you stick some robotics into your stuffed toy (they would have said "clockwork" a hundred years ago), does that really raise the percentage of people interested in petting the stuffed toy and pretending that it's a real seal?
I mean I like stuffed toys myself, but I can't imagine that putting machinery inside of one makes it better. Since you don't have to pretend that it's moving or anything, I think you're MORE likely to be thinking of it as just an object, in case you'll think of it as a machine rather than as a pillow.
I mean lets face it, the smartest computerized toy is no nearer to being a real seal than an ordinary doll is.
And isn't the whole premise awfully condescending and insulting? If you want to help old people get over loneliness, why are you foisting toys on them rather than say, time with a real human being, or a real pet?
Yes that robot will help in simulations.
http://www.newgrounds.com/seals/index.html
"Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us." -Jesus Christ The Lord's Prayer
It is now possible for friends to go clubbing for fun and profit in the privacy of their home.
Just wait until they have robotic stingrays I can put in the bathtub with my robotic Steve Irwin!
I must say this is a great idea. It is taking relatively older ideas and technology and modernizing them. There is a lot to be said for the neural stimulation one recieves from the simple act of caring for something. It has been shown that stuffed animals help a child to learn and cope with difficulty. Using Bio-Feedback, one can see the stimulation this provides. Taking robotics and applying it to the stuffed animal is wonderful. The sounds of satiation that the harp seal stuffed animal provides works to relax the body and mind. This may be a lot easier than caring for a live animal; especially for someone elderly and with more limited ranges of motion. I volunteered in a nursing home wherein we used cats to provide the pet therapy. Somewhere along the line I remember hearing a neurologist claim that the sound of the purring of a cat provides relaxation. Additionally, the gentle, tactile vibrations that come from the purring trigger a response shown to lower blood pressure and improve blood flow. I would really like to see continued development of this harp seal robot. I think it may have great potential for health and elder care.
I have this image in my mind.
Nurse: "Mr. Yamoto, it's time for your therapy"
The adorable robot seal flops into the room.
Patient: "No. Please no. For the love of god, don't put me in a room with that thing!"
Nurse: "Oh don't be a baby Mr. Yamoto, it's for your own good."
The robot looks at the patient and its eyes start to glow red.
Patient: "Anything but the robot seal! Anything! I'm begging you, please no!"
Nurse: "There's nothing to be afraid of. The seal just wants to be petted and help you"
The robot turns to the nurse and gives him an adorable, innocent expression.
Nurse: "See? Its harmless. The seal couldn't hurt a flea!"
The robot turns back to the patient and opens its mouth, revealing razor sharp steel teeth and a small amount of blood draining from the corner of its mouth.
The nurse shuts the patient in a small room with the seal. There's the sound of loud screaming for the next ten minutes, followed by silence.
Nurse (as he drags the patient's bloody corpse from the room): "Ahh, this new robot is great! Takes care of the fussy old folks like nobody's business!"
The Internet is generally stupid
it really tells you alot about how Japan treats their elderly.
In America and China we cherish and admire our elderly. When you're old in America you can expect your sons and daughters to look after you. In China they treat their elderly like heroes. In Japan at best you can look forward to a 10 minute hello and goodbye once every year or two because their children don't want to be late for work. You become a burden...
Japan is about appearances.
They think the more happy cute things you surround yourself with the happier you'll LOOK to others but the truth is that it only shows you are trying to compensate for what you completely lack. If I lived in Japan I'd just rather die than spend my last 10 years being fed by a robotic arm, surrounded by cute writhing robots with their soulless blinking eyes.
Sorry if I missed the point but: where's the technical prowess here?
How I see things (maybe in a too simplistic way) is:
if( sensorActive == true )
{
flapArms();
blinkEyes();
}
With a bunch of captors under the fur and voila.
What's the deal with it?
Could they maybe make one of those attractive robotic girls that does this? It would make the perfect companion for the average slashdot reader.
Don't Date Robots!
I don't think Americans cherish the elderly in general, but perhaps many Americans treat their own parents better than they might, at least in old age. Which is funny, because as children, teenagers and young adults we treat our parents atrociously; worse than the Japanese, I'd guess.
I wonder if anyone who actually grew up in Japan could make a comment on how well or badly the elderly are treated.
Robot seals.......overlords....come on, this story obviously needs such a post.
You can google the words Elderly Abuse Japan and see it is indeed a problem. Another problem is that often the elderly are forced to stay quiet and manipulated by the nurses so you just won't hear about it.
Comment removed based on user account deletion
Don't blow a seal.
... and then they built the supercollider.
I for once, welcome our robotic seal overlords!
good...call me when you have robotic babe.
Eclipse PDE and Me
...that when I'm old enough to need this kind of care, nobody attempts to give me a robotic seal to pet. Fortunately for the people creating these robotic seals, the old people they are trying to give the seals to, are probably not a physical threat anymore. But if I were one of them, I think I would have tried to land a shot anyway...
Warranty void if seal is broken.
"Robots are looked on as a solution to Japan's ageing population" I don't really see how small, robotic seals are meant to prevent people from getting older, unless they "dispose" of the elderly somehow.
The ultimate Bond Villain accessory toy.
http://www.segatoys.co.jp/yumeneko/index.html
Whatever you do don't pull its tail.
but how about the benefits of petting the nursing staff? I'll bet a study would show some benefit to that.
Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
Sorry, couldn't resist. Had to get it out of my system.
Now, on a more serious note. Essentially this is a toy. No one needs me to point out that robot toys have been, and remain, really popular. Kids interact with them tirelessly. Adults like toys, too, of course. "Daaaad, it's s'pose to be MY train set."
So, like all people, old folks like toys, too. My Mom is 90. She is independent. She still works as an artist. And she takes pretty good care of herself. She absorbs more news than I do and could out-talk Diane Rehm on politics. She also likes to play with a few dolls she has on her mantle. She'll rearrange them and talk to them just like an eight year old girl. She's not out of it. She knows she's pretending (just like an eight year old would if you asked) but she enjoys the imaginary play. I mean, we all do in some way or another.
So I think a really quality soft toy capable of dynamic interaction would be fun from time to time. I mean a Dance Dance Revolution console is probably out for my mom, but a responsive interactive toy with a few surprises and unlocks in store? Maybe an old song, or a poem? Why not? She might enjoy it while she's waiting for the C-Span book review to come on. Or while she waiting for my cousin to come over so she can whip him in scabble...again
Given a little privacy no one is above playing with a cool toy.
"No fear. No envy. No meanness." Liam Clancy
Comes with a cartridge of blood and a baseball bat and a T-shirt that says "The twitching and crying is just a death reflex"
You too can be as happy as a Candian on an ice floe with a baseball bat
Well, I didn't quite club one, but I do have pictures of me laughingly pretending that's what I was doing. I suspect I'm going to regret that.
:-)
The real story was that I met the inventor at a public exhibition of the seals, and before he was introduced to the audience I saw a couple of the seals with a large wooden mallet lying next to them. My first thought was "Oh dear God, no. Tell me he's not going to...."
Of course, bad taste and poor judgement (entirely on my part) took over from there.
The inventor was very good-natured about the whole thing, and seems to be quite a nice guy.
If I ever run for President, I guess I'm dead meat. ( Though if I ever run for President of Canadia, this and an endorsement from Don Cherry and I'm in! )