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Japanese Robo-Bear Soothes Elderly, Terrifies Everyone Else

by Amar Toor on April 5, 2010 at 08:59 AM

When Japanese senior citizens said they'd much rather cuddle with a stuffed animal than walk around the house with a fancy robot companion, the anti-cyborg overtones of their pleas were all too clear. Fujitsu, though, apparently remains unconvinced that Japan's elderly really know what they want. Which is why they've designed a brand new teddy bear... that's also a robot.

According to SlashGear, the robo-bear uses an embedded camera to pick up on facial expressions, and reacts "appropriately" with the help of touch sensors placed along its head and neck. The cutesy robot is so demonstrative, in fact, that it can express up to 300 different responses, depending on how enthused (or absolutely humiliated) its geriatric owner is at a given moment. Said one Fujitsu researcher, "We want it to feel natural...so it can entertain and soothe elderly people." The company also plans on marketing their robo-bear to the polar opposite age demographic, and believes it could help shy schoolchildren learn to express themselves.

Designing a bear that can snore and giggle may be impressive, but we don't see how that could ever be "soothing" -- to anyone. A stuffed animal's entire existence revolves around the assumption that it's soft and cuddly. But do we really need a teddy bear that's so annoyingly self-aware of its own cuddliness? Not to mention one that's actually a wolf robot cloaked in a Furby sheepskin? Robots may be cold and inhuman, but at least they're honest with us, and with themselves. A woodland creature that's unwilling to come to terms with its robotic roots, though, can be downright terrifying. [From: AFP; via: Engadget and SlashGear]

Tags: bear, bears, elderly, Japan, robot, top

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