Paro, therapeutic robot

Have you even been to an extended care facility or nursing home? If so, you know that many of the residents will seem emotionless and uncommunicative … often with slow movements and a blank stare. Others may be agitated and anxious.

Japanese inventor, Takanori Shibata, has brought to life Paro, a therapeutic robot baby harp seal, intended to  bring forth emotional responses in patients of hospitals and nursing homes, and to calm them.

Using a multitude of sensors, these robot baby seals respond to light, specific voices, and even language.

Shibata talked more about the project to Canadian Press, during the January 2009 Consumer Electronics Show.

Denmark is buying 1,000 robots for its elderly, and 20 American nursing homes and hospitals are testing their use.

You can learn more about Paro — the Mental Commitment robot – on the Japanese site or the U.S. site.