Mamoru – Spooky Looking Robot to Assist Elders

Looking at the image you might wonder if this is a good time to be a senior citizen in Japan. But worry not, for inspite of its downright spooky looks The Mamoru (which means “to protect” in Japanese) is a benign robot that guides forgetful elderly people to their glasses, slippers, medicine, etc.

The Mamoru has been designed by the University of Tokyo, I don’t know why they chose to keep the poor robot almost limbless, the two appendages hanging from its sides are poor apologies for hands. In any case the robot is incapable of locomotion or making use of those hands. The eyes of The Mamoru are actually wide angle camera lenses fitted with image recognition software. Once you have registered objects with the Mamoru it will monitor their locations and inform you upon asking. It can also be programmed to tell you when it is time for medicine.

The Mamoru project is a prestigious one with noted Japanese firms such as Toyota Motors and Fujitsu helping out with it. However, commercial production is still a decade away. Maybe when the first commercial Mamoru rolls down the assembly line, it will be capable of far more than being the “memory” of senior citizens.