Robots turn off senior citizens in aging Japan

By Emi Foulk Thu Sep 20, 6:26 AM ET

TOKYO (Reuters) - Ifbot, the resident robot at a Japanese nursing home, can converse, sing, express emotions and give trivia quizzes to seniors to help with their mental agility. Yet the pale-green gizmo has spent much of the past two years languishing in a corner alone.

"The residents liked ifbot for about a month before they lost interest," said Yasuko Sawada, director of the facility in Kyoto, western Japan, shaking her head as she contemplated the 495,000 yen ($4,300), 45-cm-tall (18-inch-tall) "communication robot."

"Stuffed animals are more popular," she remarked dryly.

(snip)

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070920/sc_nm/japan_ageing_gadgets_dc


I think this is the wave of the future, yall. You don't have to be Karl Rove to figure Japan just has to launch an enormous propaganda public relations campaign to change people's attitudes about this.

yikes.

:sarcasm:

I guess they listened. No metal monsters coming for them!

Another senior turned off.

I do not remember the names of the researchers, but I do recall the research itself, to test whether attachment is instinctual or learned behavior.

Baby rhesus monkeys were put in a cage with two surrogate "mothers." One was made out of unheated chicken wire and had bottles attached from which the baby could feed. One was covered with fur and had a small heater and artificial heartbeat, but provided no food. The baby would spend most of its time clinging to the warm, furry surrogate, running to the feeding surrogate only when driven by hunger and stay there for as little time as possible.

I expect something similar in Japan. While the robot can provide for some needs and may make for a novel toy, it does not provide the residents of the nursing home with what they crave most: the tactile contact they can get from a plushie.

modern people ignore.

One of my office-mates also pointed out that if the residents want conversation, they probably would rather chat with other residents, the staff or visitors. Unexpected conversations with people who are knowledgeable about different things and familiar with current events would be a lot more fun than conversations limited by a machine's programming and likewise would use more of the resident's imagination.