Last month we received an order from Thailand for easy-entry cars meant for wheelchair bound people or thsoe with difficulty in walking. Our customer was very much satisfied with the toyota motor company’s WELCAB vehicles. Toyota says with pride that these cars are more patient than your daughter.

Indeed,  with nearly 22 percent of Japan’s population aged 65 or older, businesses like Toyota are using cutting-adge technology to attend to needs of the aging population, and rolling out everything from easy-entry cars to remote-controlled beds.  Last month when I attend a home care and rehabilitation convention in Tokyo,  I could see several interesting products.  For example,my spoon feeding robots from secom company,  helps elderly or disabled people to eat with a spoon and fork fitted swiveling arm, which could be operated using a joystick.  And there was an intelligent Wheelchair TAO Aicle from Fujitsu and Aisin seiki, which uses a positioning system to automatically travel to a present destination; it uses sensors to detecty and stop at red lights, and to avoid obstacles.
And there were robotic suits to help nurses hoist patients on and off their beds.

So, if you grow old in Japan, expect to be served food by a robot, ride a voice-recognition wheelchair or even possibly hire a nurse in a robotic suit.

Technorati Tags: , , , , , ,