Panasonic's 16-Finger, Hair-Washing Robot 181
angry tapir writes "Panasonic has developed a hair-washing robot that uses 16 electronically controlled fingers to give a perfect wash and rinse. The robot, images of which were distributed by Panasonic, appears to be about the size of a washing machine. Users sit in a reclining chair and lean back to place their head in the machine's open top. Two robot arms guide the 16 fingers, which have the same dexterity as human fingers, the company claims."
Re:Heights (Score:2, Informative)
This is called Heights of laziness. Or it should be used for a person who don't have hands.
-V
From TFA
"The robot was developed to assist caregivers in hospitals and health-care facilities and is the product of a Panasonic program that is developing robotic technology for health care and welfare services."
"Panasonic said the robots are designed to provide a more comfortable life for the elderly and people with limited mobility while reducing the burden on caregivers."
The Big Bang Theory... (Score:5, Informative)
This, and its usage, was pretty much covered in the latest episode of The Big Bang Theory.
Re:Luckily for us... (Score:2, Informative)
There's a reason Japan is doing robots for everything. You're probably aware there's an inverse correlation between affluence and reproduction -- the native population of all Westernized nations is declining, but because the reproduction rate has fallen over time, the population isn't just dropping, it also skews older. Most societies replace the "missing" younger, working generation with immigrants from less affluent, more populous societies; eventually you get enough of them that you start having trouble with brown scares, etc.(see US) if you're lucky, and riots, etc. (see France) if you're not.
The Japanese, whether through racism, cultural pride, or good sense, have managed to avoid much immigration -- good side is no racial/cultural tension, bad side is an aging population with a shortage of young people to keep things running for the retirees. So the logical solution is robot labor.
Re:Luckily for us... (Score:4, Informative)
This is probably for the domestic market in Japan.
There is no "girl who does your hair" left there. Japan's living standard, life expectancy and birth rate make the "girl who does your hair" an extinct species. As a result Sony, Panasonic and the like keep demonstrating robots and augmentations which do these jobs.