Japan’s Assistive Robot Roadmap

The Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics have begun to recruit the 80,000 volunteer-force they require over the summer of 2020. Earlier this year, the games’ organizing committee had planned to incorporate robots to work alongside their human counterparts in directing guests to competing venues and rendering foreign language support. If visible, these automatons may even have a village which they can call their own.

Assistive robots’ goals and development

It’s not the first time the Japanese have shown a keen interest towards assistive robots and they are not at all kenson (i.e. humble and modest) when it comes to telling others what they can do as a technology forerunner in Asia. The Kanagawa Prefecture has compiled a list of overseas media coverage they received over the years to feature the kinds of robots they employ in care homes and hospitals.

Back in 2013, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) of Japan had launched the “Robotic Care Equipment Development and Introduction Project”. Three goals were identified: needs oriented, low research production cost, and enables large-scale production. METI entrusted the Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (AMED), a funding body set up in 2015 to further entwined medical care and technology.

The project follows a “V-model”: from the initial design, to prototype testing and eventual use, processes do not focus on the conventional “system design” which embraces only the engineering, but also on “service design” which aims at the interests of human being. The Japanese government also act as the middleman to bridge the gap between users and companies, ensuring the duo find each other and their expectations are met. Meanwhile, a series of evaluation standards and guidelines are also established to warrant safety.

Presently, wearable and non-wearable transfer aids; outdoor and indoor mobility aids; toilet and bathing aids and monitoring systems for private and nursing homes were highlighted as tools of high urgency, to cope with the challenges brought about by an aging population.

A solution rooted in traditional value

According to the latest figures published by the National Institute of Population and Social Security Research, Japan is likely to experience a rapid decline in population due to aging and low birth rate over the next five decades. By 2065, one out of every 2.8 individuals will be above the age of 65, as compared to one out of four individuals today. On the contrary, there will be a 40% drop in the working population aged between 15 to 64.

Indeed, a diminishing workforce has created a new demand for assistive robots but the less known fact which drives this need is the unwillingness to trouble others. “Osewa-ni-narimasu” or “I am sorry for toubling you” is an expression Japanese use when seeking others for help. Japanese are extremely weary of asking for assistance, regarding it as taking others’ time and effort. Hence, they will rather suffer in silence. As such, elderly or physically challenged individuals often see themselves as burdens to their families because they require much help in everyday lives.

As Kentaro Yoshifuji, CEO and co-founder of OriHime, an assistive robot designed to combat social isolation, mentioned in last December’s global health technology conference — Health 2.0 Asia, close to 70% of ALS patients in Japan chose not to have any respiratory equipment when they experience difficulty in breathing. While most of us have the natural awareness of “I can do something for myself to improve the current situation”, but these 70% are most likely thinking about “I am not doing anything because my existence will only inconvenient others”.

“It’s important for these individuals to realize that they are not burdens and are ‘needed by someone’ and technology is the options to realize that,” Yoshifuji said in one of the panel discussions. As such, innovations like HAL(Hybrid Assistive Limb) and RT2are assuring users substantial freedom of movement. Even the latest DFree, which predicts one’s toilet time by tracking bladder movements, permits users to gain back control of their lives and to live with dignity.

More challenges ahead

The US had drafted a similar roadmap — the 2016 US Robotic Roadmap, involving over 150 researchers, to outline the state of robotics and future research directions, with similar key focus on aging as well as to better surgery, medical intervention, rehabilitation and the overall clinical workforce. Mainly, any robotic development taking place inside, outside, or on the body.

In terms of scale, the ambition of the US roadmap is more apparent as it focusses on possibilities rather than needs. On the other hand, the US has limited communications between end users and companies which encourage innovations. This often leads to unnecessary wastage and abandonment as the final products are seldom tested or even have the chance to leave the laboratory to prove their usefulness.

Nevertheless, both US and Japan aimed to facilitate independent living or co-dependent independent living. However, the true unexplored challenges are: can robots like OriHime or the well-known Paro, provides “real” companionship. Or if Robear can render “true” care since all of these require conscious experiences. Will there ever be a possibility which patients with degenerative disorder like Dementia mistook a robot for real person?

On the other hand, if there is really a need to have a human behind each robot, do assistive robots genuinely reduces manpower or are we merely shifting the demand to roles that encompass a different set of skills?

As robots continue to play an influential role in medicine and healthcare, the need to switch from “system design” to “service design” — innovations which aim at the interests of human being and their impact on society, will become crucial. Like the six pages of application form I have to fill to become an Olympic and Paralympic volunteer, at the end of the day, it’s the matching of end demand from the event and what I can do as a facilitator.

Leading the charge

CHAPIT

This mouse-like bot can sit by a patient’s bedside and engage in conversation and play games, which may prevent dementia. It can also manage users’ calendars!

The company are trialing lending the robots to care homes to examine their suitability and promote their use in elderly care.

ROBEAR

Weighing 140 kilograms, Robear looks like smiling bear and it is intended to lift patients from their beds into their wheelchairs.

According to Toshiharu Mukai, leader of the Robot Sensor Systems Research Team, Robear is “capable of providing powerful yet gentle care to elderly people”.

PALRO

A humanoid robot standing at just under 40cm tall built by Fuji Soft Inc. It can respond to verbal commands, picture its surroundings, and recognise faces.

The bot can provide entertainment for elderly patients by hosting quizzes and leading exercise routines.

Do you know?

The Japanese government expects the market for healthcare robots, or “carerobos” will more than triple between 2015 and 2020 to 54.3 billion Yen ($480 million).

A recent nationwide study found that using robots encouraged over a third of care home residents to become more active and autonomous.

The excerpt of this article was published as the lead feature of AIMed Magazine #5 — Robotic Technology & Virtual Assistants issue, pages 8 to 10, debut October 2018. A digital copy is available here.