Japan's nursing facilities using humanoid robots, IT to improve lives, safety of elderly

Humanoid robots and advances in information technology are increasingly being used by nursing homes in a bid to give elderly people a better quality of life. In one example, a nursing home in Natori, Miyagi Prefecture, has enlisted the help of the Telenoid robot via which people can communicate remotely with an elderly person using a microphone and camera. "Grandma, what color flowers do you like?" the Telenoid robot asked a resident in her 80s at the Urayasu elderly nursing home last month. "Pink cherry blossoms," the woman responded with a smile. Telenoid, which weighs 2.7 kg and is 50 cm tall, was developed by Osaka University professor Hiroshi Ishiguro and his associates.