14 DAY TRIAL // “Robot” is a word that is used quite loosely by the industry, for everything from a vaguely mobile part of an assembly line to large walkers and even humanoid contraptions. Regular people invariably think about bipedal machines though.
This has to do with the familiarity of the human shape, and familiarity tends to make us feel more comfortable.
Comfort and safety are very important for people who are recovering from an injury or who are just so old that going about even their normal business can become a physical chore.
Knowing this, Riken and Sumitomo Riko Company Limited have created the Robear, a robot shaped like an anthropomorphic bear whose role is to look after people getting on in years.
The Robear
Considering how pedestrian and unoriginal “robobear” would have sounded, that is a decent name. Even though the bot looks more like an astronaut with a weird animal-themed helmet.
The robot is a successor to the Robot for Interactive Body Assistance (RIBA) and RIBA II assistance robots from 2009 and 2011, respectively. In fact, its design and inner workings were largely based on theirs.
It is supposed to be gentle enough to look after the needs of Japan's aged population (Smart Rubber capacitance-type tactile sensors are in play here) while also packing enough “muscle” to pick them up from their bed.
Robear has very low gear ratio actuators which allow his joints to move very quickly, while backdrivability prevents the motions from being jerky.
For something weighing only 140 kilos / 308 pounds, that is quite remarkable. RIBA-II weighs 230 kilos / 507 pounds in comparison.
One note though: the robot is only “humanoid” in the upper half. The bottom half is a wheel-based platform instead of actual legs. Mankind hasn't mastered machine-based balance systems well enough for this yet.
Availability
Japanese nursing homes should receive the Robear sooner rather than later if Riken has its way, but it may take a while. The rest of the world may or may not follow suit.
