To some scientists, robots are the answer to caring for aging societies in Japan and other nations where the young are destined to be overwhelmed by a surging elderly population.
These advocates see robots serving not just as helpers — carrying out simple chores and reminding patients to take their medication — but also as companions, even if the machines can carry on only a semblance of a real dialogue.
The ideal results: huge savings in medical costs, reduced burdens on family and caretakers, and old and sick people kept in better health.
"This technology is really needed for the global community," said Russell Bodoff, executive director at the Center for Aging Services Technologies in Washington, D.C. "If you look 30 years out, we have what I would call a global crisis in front of us: that we will have many more aging people than we could ever deal with."
Japan leads the world in research on such "partner" robots. But the fledgling offerings often fail to address real-life needs — partly because their creators don't fully appreciate what kinds of robots appeal to the elderly and the sick, experts say.
And while proponents say robot therapy is no different from pet therapy, in which animals offer companionship, the idea of children and older people becoming emotionally attached to machines unnerves many people.
