A look at the robots that are transforming the global elder care industry

How do we take care of the old? Do we need to take the help of machines to move, moni tor and talk to them?

Japan is funding the development of elder care robots to fill a projected shortfall of 380,000 specialised workers by 2025.

Companies are also eyeing a potentially lucrative export industry of supplying robots to places like Germany, China and Italy, which could face similar demographic challenges.

1
Paro The personal robot is used as a therapy animal; it has about 100 sensors, 10 CPUs and eight motors and responds to touch, speech and light Made by: Intelligent System Co.

2
HAL Lumbar Nursing care workers use it to get back support while lifting heavy goods; the device uses bioelectric signals generated by the user to reduce stress on the lumbar region Made by: Cyberdyne Inc

3
Pepper Humanoid robot interprets emotions and responds; used in elder care homes for games, rudimentary conversations, etc Made by: SoftBank Robotics Corp
5
Resyone An electronic nursing bed that can be split to make a wheelchair Made by: Eco Solutions, a unit of Panasonic.

4
Mamoro-no The monitoring device uses a slender airbag that is placed under the mattress to detect a person’s movements, heartbeats and breathing patterns. Made by: ASD Inc

Global market for nursing care and disabled aid robots $19.2 mn in 2016. Made up of mostly Japanese manufacturers Estimated to become $3.8 bn by 2035 in Japan alone.