Wellness trends: “Healing” robotic pets

Written by: Michael Keferl on April 13, 2007 at 3:27 am | In 01 Technology & Gadget Trends |

When Westerners think of robots, they tend to envision futuristic, possibly scary, androids that are super-intelligent and can perform feats well beyond human capacity. Like blowing stuff up really efficiently or trying to kill John Connor. I was scared to death of my dad’s Shop Vac back when I was a kid because it looked like R2-D2.

When Japanese think of robots, they often think “Cute!”. Consumer robotics (e.g. not something from a Gundam fantasy) are almost entirely geared towards putting humans at ease. Robots such as Mitsubishi’s Wakamaru are designed from the onset to assist the aging population here and, in fact, many Japanese would have no qualms at all about being taken care of by robots in their old age.

The beginings of this are in the latest trend of “healing” toys, designed to calm, relax, and psychologically heal the people who use them. They aren’t robots that can carry on an interesting conversation, but are toys with robotic qualities that heal us through interaction and entertainment.

At first, these robots have come into being as a pet-replacement. It’s well known that animal therapy is extremely useful, particularly for the infirm, but these don’t create the mess or have the needs of a real animal. They have everything from embedded sensors, voice recognition, realistic movements and sounds, to soft, huggable bodies.

Examples include “Near Me”, the original robotic cat from Sega that has sensors all over its body and can interact and play with its owners, and Yume Neko (dream cat), the scaled-down successor to Near Me. Paro, the baby seal, is another great animal robotics example used in care facilities that has sensors and shows emotions. From Primopuel to the new Healing Partner Dacky, soft and plush robotic toys are now able speak, show “feelings”, and interact with users in a positive way that is neither loud (e.g. Furbies) nor annoying (e.g. Furbies again).

These are also toys that have a long life with a consumer, and are often prominently displayed in the home. Eventually, we see them as becoming part of the family.

Of course, the ultimate healing robot is highlighted in the video below. It looks like R2-D2, but after a couple of beers I’m not scared anymore:

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