The government will step up support for companies developing caregiver robots with an eye on improving productivity in the field of elderly nursing care amid widespread labor shortages. In its budget request for fiscal 2019, which begins next April, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry plans to request that funds for such support be increased by about 20 percent from the previous year's ¥1.1 billion, informed sources said. The use of robots for providing help going to the toilet, walking and other assistance is expected to alleviate the physical burdens of care workers considerably and contribute to an easing of labor shortages in the industry. Furthermore, the ministry aims to help drastically reduce their work logging care recipients' health data, including blood pressure levels, by creating robots that automatically collect such data as they assist those in care. An administrative work assistance system that automatically stores such data so it is better used in care services is also envisioned. The system would have an artificial intelligence engine that analyzes recipients' behavioral patterns so that more effective care plans will be drawn up for them.

As our population ages, these caregiver robots will also be useful for the old as well as the young. This is not a rhetorical question. So-called robot nannies are already a hit in Japan and China, and are now beginning to appear stateside. The numbers show why this is an attractive proposition. According to the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 4 million babies are born annually in the United States. What's more, 62% percent of women who gave birth within the last year work outside of the home, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.