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Robotic Suit For Rent In Japan
Posted by
timothy
on Fri Oct 10, 2008 01:40 AM
from the low-miles-one-owner-died-quick dept.
from the low-miles-one-owner-died-quick dept.
xTantrum writes with an AP story that begins "A robotic suit that reads brain signals and helps people with mobility problems will be available to rent in Japan for $2,200 a month starting Friday — an invention that may have far-reaching benefits for the disabled and elderly."
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Idle: Airbags For the Elderly 3 comments
Prop, a Japanese company, has come up with a novel way of protecting the elderly from sudden slips and falls: airbags. The airbags inflate with 15 litres of compressed air in 0.1 seconds if an electric sensor detects a sudden movement towards the ground. However, the airbags only work if you fall backwards, so pushing grandma down the stairs for the inheritance should still work.
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Obligatory... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Obligatory... (Score:5, Funny)
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
Dirty mind is a joy forever...
I misread it as "$2,200/month Robotic Slut Overlords."
Re:Obligatory... (Score:5, Funny)
That is Mr. Roboto to you sir!
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
Domo aregato, Mr. Roboto.
fp bitches! (Score:5, Insightful)
'an invention that may have far-reaching benefits for the disabled and elderly'
Not for $2200/month it won't.
Re:fp bitches! (Score:4, Insightful)
Well it wont help in places where elderly are expected to take care of themselves - however in the civilized parts of the world where the government takes care of their elderly and disabled this will have huge benefits for all.
Parent
Re:fp bitches! (Score:4, Insightful)
Well it wont help in places where elderly are expected to take care of themselves - however in the civilized parts of the world where the government takes care of their elderly and disabled this will have huge benefits for all.
You let me know what country takes care of their eldery to the tune of $2200 per month, because that's where I want to retire.
Last I checked, most of those "civilized parts of the world" are either reforming their State pension systems or are planning to.
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
That'll help take care of the elderly
Re:fp bitches! (Score:5, Insightful)
Well Denmark is spending more than that per month.
Having such a suit means the elderly can get up and down stairs by themselves, go shopping on their own - that means freeing up workers and giving companies more people to hire, while we are currently feeling a bit of pain due to the financial crisis we still have more job offerings than people to hire.
Parent
Re:fp bitches! (Score:4, Insightful)
$2200 for now. Remember, this is a first-gen product.
Parent
Re:Amen to that -- remember what cell phones cost. (Score:5, Insightful)
The problem is that they will be running up against the Laws of Physics. You can make it smaller and lighter all you want, as long as you don't run up against those most enforced of laws.
Phones and video games just have to produce voltages large enough to represent 1s and possibly 0s. Maybe produce some light. You can get away with using less power if you can make the electronics smaller. A nice feedback loop.
This robotic system has to actually lift and move things. Things that are not getting smaller. It takes a given amount of power to lift a 170lb person. You can't make the power requirement smaller. To be mobile, something to generate that power has to be carried along. There are several ways of possibly accomplishing this task, but don't count on any major revolutions.
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
You let me know what country takes care of their eldery to the tune of $2200 per month, because that's where I want to retire.
Last I checked, most of those "civilized parts of the world" are either reforming their State pension systems or are planning to.
Let me further refine that statement by saying "...what country takes care of their elderly to the tune of $2200 per month FOR ROBOTIC EXOSKELETON SUITS WITH WHICH TO DOMINATE THE YOUNG, ROBOTIC-EXOSKELETON-FREE KIDS ON THEIR LAWNS."
Re: (Score:2)
To the tune of 26,400$ a year it won't here in the "civilized parts" either. Socialized health care has some benefits but it doesn't mean we can take money out of thin air. It will come down to a cost-benefit compared to other services, if more elderly can manage without or with less human assistance then it'll happen but it won't magically come on top of everything we provide today.
Re:fp bitches! (Score:4, Insightful)
As for magically appearing...nothing ever does. First you have to have the machines. At the same time pretty much you need doctors, therapists and tecnicians trained to work with the machine. Then you have to probably teach people to work with it.
It's not the money that will be a big problem but the support structure. Even so, I'm sure in 10-20 years you'll be seeing these things or similar ones on the same level as a wheelchair.
Parent
Re:fp bitches! (Score:5, Insightful)
Government doesn't take care of the elderly, taxpayers do. If you are going to take my money and pass it on to the elderly then at least give credit where it's due.
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Re: (Score:3)
Actually there are people who donate more to help people out than they pay in taxes. The bottom half of the income distribution in the US pays almost no taxes. Some of them do, however, give to charities.
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
You pay the government to take problems off your hand. Give credit where it's due.
Re: (Score:2)
the civilized parts of the world where the government takes care of their elderly and disabled this will have huge benefits for all.
Living in a "civilized" part of the world with social healthcare with a disabled family member, let me reassure you that that the government would laugh at you in the face if you ask them for $2200 a month for this. They will happily provide you with a mint-condition wheelchair until the technology becomes affordable (as in not $2200 a month).
I think there are a lot more useful applications for healthcare money (eg. help pay for life saving surgery, help pay for medication for the chronically ill, etc) than
Re:fp bitches! (Score:4, Funny)
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Probably around the same time that two incomes became necessary to support a family.
Re: (Score:2)
Japan has has socialized health care. the majority of their hospitals and medical institutions are privately owned, but all medical bills are covered by the government. so it won't be a problem for lower income individuals to gain access to this technology in Japan.
though in the U.S. you'll probably only see the wealthy wearing the $2200/month model, while the middle class will have to settle for the $1500/month one-legged version. but everyone else will have to stick with wheelchairs or walkers with tennis
Re: (Score:2)
Given the problems Japan is facing with socialized healthcare I doubt they're government is going to subsidize the use of this thing. Socialized healthcare is great until someone has to pay for it. That's the problem Japan is facing, not enough people to pay for the growing aging population.
Such technology would see limited use not because of healthcare but because of cost versus value. I actually think $2200 a month isn't bad at all given the nature of this new technology. If this thing had been been intro
Re: (Score:2)
what kind of problems are they facing? people getting the health care they need regardless of socioeconomic stratum? no one going bankrupt because of medical bills? health care costing a fraction of what it does in the U.S. while citizens receive better care and health results?
i think you should do a little more research into the Japanese health system before saying banal platitudes like "socialized healthcare is great until someone has to pay for it."--what is that even supposed to mean? the government has
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
It means that while a more equitable distribution of certain resources is a desirable situation, it doesn't solve the problem of providing the aforementioned resources.
Bzzt. Movie reference overload (Score:5, Funny)
Cyberdyne, a new company in Tsukuba outside Tokyo, will mass-produce HAL.
Cyberdyne [wikipedia.org]? Will produce HAL [wikipedia.org]? Outlook not so good.
Re: (Score:2, Funny)
or perhaps their Cylon [wikipedia.org] line of robotic factory workers.
Pictures (Score:3, Funny)
Not to mention it will make you look like TRON:
http://www.cyberdyne.jp/english/robotsuithal/index.html [cyberdyne.jp]
What's not to like?
What about ./ers (Score:2, Funny)
Re:What about ./ers (Score:5, Funny)
What about ./ers and _their_ "mobility problems"?
Just a myth. We just don't want to leave the basement.
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
What about ./ers and _their_ "mobility problems"?
Just a myth. We just don't want to leave the basement.
Clever. Clever. I notice how you say "the basement" suggesting there's a chance that said basement might actually belong to you.
Re: (Score:2)
Cyberdyne? (Score:4, Funny)
Anyone remember what happened the last time we let Cyberdyne make anything remotely robotic? :-)
Re: (Score:2)
Re:Cyberdyne? (Score:4, Insightful)
Summer Glau, is that you?
If all robots looked like her, I'd be the first in the queue for robotic domination...
Parent
It's only a matter of time... (Score:5, Funny)
Mod Points (Score:2)
Sounds cool (Score:4, Funny)
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
Hrmm (Score:2)
I think the article missed the feature where the wearer powers up, screaming while an animated background appears.
Lies (Score:4, Informative)
It isn't really reading brain signals. From the own company's website, they say the system detects signals on the surface of the skin (of what is intended to be moved). That is why they demonstrate it with partially paralyzed people. If the spinal column cannot relay any signal at all to the legs, then the system cannot work.
Hack (Score:2)
My God (Score:2)
Startup commands. (Score:5, Funny)
I hear that the first beta testers are annoyed that to bootstrap the suit, they have to stand in a spread-eagle configuration and yell out "Power Extreme!"
GrpA
obligatory! (sorry, I could not help it) (Score:5, Funny)
My favorite mechanical trouser mayhem.
From one of my favorite short films ever!
Though I have no idea how well known it is out of the UK.
Now if only I could find my copy of 'Electronics for Dogs'.
It's in the tags, but not the comments (Score:5, Interesting)
Roujin Z
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roujin_Z [wikipedia.org]
Fear.
Elderly 209 (Score:5, Funny)
[ED 209] You have twenty seconds to get off my lawn. [/ED 209]
DEAR GOD NO (Score:5, Insightful)