Japan makes robotic grandchildren for lonely grandparents

You know the world is releasing depressing headlines when the news that Takara Tomy created a robotic grandson talking To offer comfort and company For older people in Japan, it’s not the saddest news of the week at all, but it definitely comes close.

Using robots to give older people something to engage with is far from a new idea, but to date, we’ve mostly seen it do with robotic versions of animals, including dogs, cats, and even song birds. Given the current limitations of technology, it is much easier to create a compelling enough artificial pet than acredible human being, but with Ami-chan, Takara Tomy took a more cartoonish approach to avoid the weird valley altogether. The robot looks like a character from a Studio Ghibli movie, with big, exaggerated eyes and a subtle little smile, so it definitely leans more towards the cute than the scary.

While Ami-chan may blink, or close them completely to simulate falling asleep, this is roughly the extent of his movements and animated characteristics. He mostly sits there, like a doll, but encourages physical interactions through a robust use of verbal communication. The robot has a vocabulary of around 1,600 Japanese words and can find out more, including the names of grandparents who currently interact with him. He also has a camera so he can use facial recognition to visually identify who he’s talking to, then address them by name to create a more believable bond.

In addition to engaging in a back-and-forth conversation using voice recognition, Ami-chan also sings 40 different nursery rhymes and songs, some of which are only played depending on the time of year, plus games like tongue twisters that are cleverly designed as brain training exercises. The robot-grandchild can also be rocked to sleep, triggering a simulated nap that even includes the talking bot in its sleep which begins to get spooky again.

With a price around $ 250, Ami-chan is not cheap, but unlike what grandma or grandpa has a new puppy or kitten, it’s cheaper in the long run because its only real need is a new set of batteries. size C from time to time. What might also make the price easier to swallow is that for $ 250 you’re essentially dumping a whole bunch of guilt for not calling or visiting your grandparents as often as you might think.