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Robotics

Japanese Robot Guards to Patrol Shops And Offices 188

Posted by Zonk from the we'll-be-ready-for-the-zentradi dept.
Clarinase writes "Robots will be patrolling Japan's streets, offices, shopping malls and other public places for the safety of the people. Guardrobo D1 is equipped with a camera and sensors to detect any signs of trouble. It will then alert the human guards via radio with camera footage of possible troubles. This is one of the technological advancement vital to the aging population of Japan, where 1 in 5 Japanese are over 65 years old."
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Japanese Robot Guards to Patrol Shops And Offices More

Japanese Robot Guards to Patrol Shops And Offices

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  • Who guards the robot? (Score:5, Funny)

    by nokilli ( 759129 ) on Saturday July 02, 2005 @01:19AM (#12967576)
    It's guarding shopping malls? That means it's guarding shoes.

    Who cares about shoes?

    GRAB THE ROBOT!

  • Forboding.... (Score:3, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 02, 2005 @01:22AM (#12967582)
    Deinjah wiru robeen-san! Deinjah!

  • You know people will take it seriously (Score:5, Funny)

    by neuro.slug ( 628600 ) <neuro__&hotmail,com> on Saturday July 02, 2005 @01:25AM (#12967592)
    what with a name like Guardrobo.

    But does it have frickin' laser beams?
  • some robot doesn't go crazy and start killing all the humans!!

  • Decent programming? (Score:5, Funny)

    by HaloZero ( 610207 ) <protodekaNO@SPAMgmail.com> on Saturday July 02, 2005 @01:29AM (#12967607) Homepage
    ED-209: Please put down your weapon. You have 20 seconds to comply.
    Shopper: Wtf?
    [ED-209 blows shopper away.]

    I'm sure that'd go over real well.

  • Er... (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Prune ( 557140 ) on Saturday July 02, 2005 @01:30AM (#12967614)
    Guardrobo D1 is equipped with a camera and sensors

    A camera is a sensor. This should have been written as " Guardrobo D1 is equipped with a camera and other sensors."

  • Time for Robot Insurance (Score:5, Funny)

    by cbrocious ( 764766 ) on Saturday July 02, 2005 @01:31AM (#12967615) Homepage
    Old Lady #1: When my ex-husband passed away, the insurance company said his policy didn't cover him. Old Lady #2: They didn't have enough money for the funeral. Old Lady #3: It's so hard nowadays, with all the gangs and rap music.. Old Lady #1: What about the robots? Old Lady #4: Oh, they're everywhere! Old Lady #1: I don't even know why the scientists make them. Old Lady #2: Darren and I have a policy with Old Glory Insurance, in case we're attacked by robots. Old Lady #1: An insurance policy with a robot plan? Certainly, I'm too old. Old Lady #2: Old Glory covers anyone over the age of 50 against robot attack, regardless of current health. [ cut to Sam Waterston, Compensated Endorser ] Sam Waterson: I'm Sam Waterston, of the popular TV series "Law & Order". As a senior citizen, you're probably aware of the threat robots pose. Robots are everywhere, and they eat old people's medicine for fuel. Well, now there's a company that offers coverage against the unfortunate event of robot attack, with Old Glory Insurance. Old Glory will cover you with no health check-up or age consideration. [ SUPER: Limitied Benefits First Two Years ] You need to feel safe. And that's harder and harder to do nowadays, because robots may strike at any time. [ show pie chart reading "Cause of Death in Persons Over 50 Years of Age": Heart Disease, 42% - Robots, 58% ] And when they grab you with those metal claws, you can't break free.. because they're made of metal, and robots are strong. Now, for only $4 a month, you can achieve peace of mind in a world full of grime and robots, with Old Glory Insurance. So, don't cower under your afghan any longer. Make a choice. [ SUPER: "WARNING: Persons denying the existence of Robots may be Robots themselves. ] Old Glory Insurance. For when the metal ones decide to come for you - and they will.

    • TfRI -- easy read format (Score:1)

      by Anonymous Coward
      Old Lady #1: When my ex-husband passed away, the insurance company said his policy didn't cover him.
      Old Lady #2: They didn't have enough money for the funeral.
      Old Lady #3: It's so hard nowadays, with all the gangs and rap music..
      Old Lady #1: What about the robots?
      Old Lady #4: Oh, they're everywhere!
      Old Lady #1: I don't even know why the scientists make them.
      Old Lady #2: Darren and I have a policy with Old Glory Insurance, in case we're attacked by robots.
      Old Lady #1: An insurance policy with a robot
    • Here's the video for that one:

      http://www.robotcombat.com/oldglory1.html [robotcombat.com]

  • ...vital to the ageing population of Japan, where 1 in 5 Japanese are over 65 years old.

    How come there are so many more old people in Japan as compared to the US? In the US, only ~12.5% of the population is 65 or over vs. Japan's 20%... Japanese people aren't that much longer lived than Americans, are they?

    • Re:Old people in Japan (Score:4, Informative)

      by David Rolfe ( 38 ) on Saturday July 02, 2005 @01:36AM (#12967638) Homepage Journal
      First, yes they are longer lived than Americans. Second, the birth rate has been much lower than in the U.S. Additionally, immigratin is slower to Japan so there are fewer foreigners upsetting the averages.

    • How come there are so many more old people in Japan as compared to the US?

      They eat their young.

      KFG
    • (darn it -- I got too itchy with the 'stumbit' button!)

      Continuing with corrections:

      [...] immigration is slower in Japan so there are fewer foreigners upsetting the averages.

      Anyhow. There was some pretty interesting info about this on PBS the other day.

      http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/worldbalance/ [pbs.org]

    • Re:Old people in Japan (Score:4, Interesting)

      by Dance_Dance_Karnov ( 793804 ) on Saturday July 02, 2005 @01:42AM (#12967659) Homepage
      Because when a society's young population (especially women) get educated and have decent jobs and all sorts of modern shit to play with they no longer want to be burdened with 1 or more children. As such birth rates drop and a larger % of your population is old people. same thing is happening in the US, we just have ass-tons of immigrants (legal and otherwise) who for the most part have little education(less education = less use of birth control.) and little money. They fuck like rabbits and have 12 kids. They cover the difference in this country.
      • "They"...

        I don't understand why people look down on people from Mexico so much.
        • I wasn't shitting on mexicans it is just that they happen to have the good fortune to be within walking distance of the US, so a large percentage of immigrants are mexicans. I can't help it if reality offends some PC sensiblities.
          • Ah... well I don't really mean it in PC terms; I just wish people didn't treat Mexicans like they are some type of lower person. I notice it around my city a lot and it seems hypocritical for people in general to do when so many people say that they are open to different cultures, people, etc.
            • It's not a new problem. Back when the railroads were being built it was common to see bars that said "No dogs or Irish".

              This doesn't really excuse anything, or explain it. It's more along the lines of "Sorry, some people are like that". If they're ashamed of being like that, they'll try not to let you see them. OTOH, if you get sensitized to that kind of reaction, you're likely to see it when it isn't there.

              Some problems really DON'T have any easy answers. I didn't see the post as prejudiced...merely
    • I've heard that Okinawan people have some of the longest lifespans anywhere... but this information is from first-hand experience being brought to you by second-hand information.
    • How come there are so many more old people in Japan as compared to the US?

      I think the bigger question is: Why do they feel that they're going to need more security guards to protect possession/people from old people? Unless the robots are designed to sacrifice themselves to crazy old people driving through buildings I don't think they'd do any good.
    • If a robot falls over in a shopping mall and none of the old people can hear it, does it still make a sound [everything2.com]?

    • Re:Old people in Japan (Score:5, Insightful)

      by tehanu ( 682528 ) on Saturday July 02, 2005 @02:31AM (#12967762)
      Like most developed countries there is a declining birthrate. The situation is made worse by several things:

      1. Japan really really doesn't like allowing immigration.
      2. There is still very old-fashioned treatment of women. This means that they underutilise 50% of their population. However, women in Japan are becoming more and more disastified with becoming a housewife and *want* careers. However, in Japan if you are a career woman and you have a baby, you are practically forced to quit. As one of my female Japanese co-workers (I work in Japan and am female) said to me recently "Back in your home country you mean women can have children and keep working?" In Japan women are quite literally forced to choose between having children and having a career. Having both is not possible. And many women choose career which further depresses the childbirth rate.

      On another matter, if people think female participation in technology and scientific related fields is low in the US or Australia it's got nothing on Japan. Often we are the only females in the entire room/building. In fact my co-worker said this was the first time she had another female co-worker ever...

      A weird thing in Japan right now which I see in the news is that apparently Japan has been discriminating against young people in jobs to maintain job security for "Baby boomers" (which is the reverse of the Western world). So young people have not been offered full-time positions. However now the baby boomers will be retiring starting in 2007 and employers are panicking because they havn't built up the structure of younger workers with the experience and know-how to step into the soon-to-be vacant positions.

      • Re:Old people in Japan (Score:5, Insightful)

        by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 02, 2005 @02:48AM (#12967795)
        However, in Japan if you are a career woman and you have a baby, you are practically forced to quit. As one of my female Japanese co-workers (I work in Japan and am female) said to me recently "Back in your home country you mean women can have children and keep working?" In Japan women are quite literally forced to choose between having children and having a career. Having both is not possible.

        Truly, I don't mean to be a troll, but there could be a good reason behind that. I see enough career moms and dads who need to fulfill an idiotic ideal and have children, leaving them to be raised by daycare and television. A few years down the line, they find the gall to piss and moan that their own children are like strangers to them and they can't relate or communicate.

        Raising a child is a full-time job, contrary to what some people would like to think. Career parents seem to want all the advantages of the two situations without any of the responsibilities that go with them.

        Granted, in a lot of cases it's not financially feasible to have at least one parent dedicated to child-rearing. If at all possible, I don't think these people should be having children in the first place.

        Why start something you don't have the time or resources to see through?
        • Fair enough. So, if it's a girl, the mom can be a stay-at-home mom, but if it's a boy, the dad can be a stay-at-home dad. Ii desu ka?
        • Actually what's needed is a structure of the work place that allows having the children there.

          Which should be the normal way of things, even if it may cost something or reduce productivity by a few percent (which however it doesn't, as parents lose less time to needless complexity).

          In a traditional village society it is not the case that parenthood means that the parent wants to stop doing work for himself and the community, even if it was economically possible.
          But in this case, the children naturally liv
      • In Japan women are quite literally forced to choose between having children and having a career. Having both is not possible. And many women choose career which further depresses the childbirth rate. ... On another matter, if people think female participation in technology and scientific related fields is low in the US or Australia it's got nothing on Japan.

        I work for NEC (in Japan), in software development, and there's about 60-40 male/female-ratio here (counting only "real" jobs such as software develop
    • ... Japanese people aren't that much longer lived than Americans, are they?

      No, they're just the country with the highest life expectation in the world.
  • If the Japanese-old-companion-bot [slashdot.org] is a clever disguise for these guardbots... If so, I wonder if the pensioners would really be controlling them and would become the new Shopping Center Overlords...

    Hmmmm... Brain... Gone...

  • I don't know (Score:3, Funny)

    by Approaching.sanity ( 889047 ) on Saturday July 02, 2005 @01:46AM (#12967668) Homepage
    That we should be building police robots if we don't know how ice melts. That's a bit tricky.

  • Pointless? (Score:2, Insightful)

    by Deathbane27 ( 884594 )
    "The 109cm tall robot will alert human guards via radio and by sending camera footage if it detects intruders, fires, or even water leaks."

    So this undoubtably-expensive robot is a substitute for... multiple motion-sensing cameras? And a fire alarm?

    What's the point in making it a robot? Why not just add the radio alert feature to the already-existing security systems and add a few more cameras?

  • GitS (Score:3, Funny)

    by Dachannien ( 617929 ) on Saturday July 02, 2005 @01:50AM (#12967678)
    Now if they could only make guard robots that look like hot robotic maids... [wikipedia.org]
  • the doctor has escaped....
  • So will this robot be working with or in competition with robo-cop?

  • Old people don't rob banks (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Toby The Economist ( 811138 ) on Saturday July 02, 2005 @01:57AM (#12967696)
    "This is one of the technological advancement vital to the ageing population of Japan, where 1 in 5 Japanese are over 65 years old."

    Surely if 1 in 5 Japanese are over 65 years old, there's going to be an equally proportional reduction in crime?

    --
    Toby
    • Old Man #1: Tomonaga-san, can you spare 1,000,000,000 yen?
      Old man #2: Matsuda-san, you need only ask; I am a loan officer in the developed world's most poorly regulated banking system!

      Young people are just the ugly face of New Japan. The real crime here is grey.

      Note: I don't hate Japan or Japanese. But there are some things I don't much care for--bovine complacency in the face of incompetence, and the "styles" the young folks are wearing.
    • ..the older people get, the more they tend to feel insecure and unsafe.
      When a population ages as a whole, it's insecurity feeling rises, even though the actual crimerate lowers.

      That's probably why older people are more intent on voting on a conservative party that has "safety" and "security" as keywords. And ofcourse why people buy these products.

      Not to say younger people are immune. I myself have bought 1 alarm system and 2 in-home camera systems in the last 3 years alone.
      But I am happy to say I don't v
    • Old people don't rob banks - this is factually incorrect. Behold: Grandpa Gang [cnn.com] - a 63 y.o., a 73 and a 74 y.o. were caught robbing banks from 1998 to 2004 in Germany.

    • From TA: "In the near future, it is certain that securing young and capable manpower will become even more difficult...and the security industry will feel the full brunt of the impact," the company said in a statement.

      The unemployment rate in Japan is around 5% and has been rising [jei.org] for years now. Further, unemployment rates are usually highest among the youngest employable members of society. How can they claim that it is going to become harder and harder to find and employ human labor, in a country where

    • no, maybe they'll have a *lot* of warring old crime lords in the future.

  • Theif: [hmm, there's one dumb looking hunk of metal. It doesn't stand a chance]

    Robot: [sensors detect approaching male, 180cm tall, 89.152 kilograms, wearing a 00FFFF colored jacket and FFFFFF colored pants, approaching at 3 m/s. going to alert 2]

    [thief approaches store front]

    Thief: [man, this dump hunk of junk isn't going to do anything. I think i'll just walk in quietly into the store, quietly, non-distubingly..

    Robot:[male walking into store. hands in pocket, wearing backpack, tenis shoes. W

  • Protection? (Score:5, Funny)

    by iSeal ( 854481 ) on Saturday July 02, 2005 @02:08AM (#12967724)
    *Thief enters mall.*

    *Thief notices $50 shoes.*

    *Thief alterted by $10,000 robot.*

    *Thief steals robot AND shoes.*
  • Although this robot is not so impressive, I've heard the Japanese have decided it is a national priority to build a robot-based economy. The goal is to provide labor for an aging society (Europe and America have plans for this, but they don't involve robots). The expectation is that after they get the robots economical, they will export them.

    Interestingly, US agriculture has moved away from mechanization in the last few years (and more and more to "Mexicanization") -- human labor is cheaper and ties up les
    • I take it they will be using robots to build the robots... this can never end well.
    • From Wikipedia:
      "The word robot comes from the Czech robota meaning "labor." Robot or robotnick were used in the 1600's to classify Czech tenant-farmers. A robotnick had to work as a minimum one month a year free for the landlord, according to Karsten Alnaes in his "European History II". "

      The US has a robot-based economy, we're just using "robot" in the "traditional" sense, which is to say, indentured servitude. Just ask Taco Bell.
  • I live in Japan. I shop in Japan. I would not be surprised to hear that half of the people "working" here are actually robots. They bow mechanically and emit a series of programmed sentences which *will* be completed regardless of whether your shirt is on fire or not. They genuinely try to help you to the best of their abilities. But if you confront them with something they are not expecting ("where are the bean sprouts?"--and it turns out the bean sprouts have been moved), they freeze. As the moments

  • Mall Security (Score:3, Funny)

    by tsotha ( 720379 ) on Saturday July 02, 2005 @02:41AM (#12967778)
    If 20% of the Japanese population is over 65 I would say there's a pretty large labor pool for all the mall security jobs. I'm not sure the robot can compete.
  • cos then we'd have to call Yoshimi when things go wrong

  • How is this better? (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Admiral Burrito ( 11807 ) on Saturday July 02, 2005 @02:51AM (#12967803)

    Coolness aside, how is this better than blanketing the area with regular security cameras?

  • What a waste of time and technology. This thing detects intruders, fires and water leaks. So put in a burglar alarm, a smoke detector and a water leak detector and you're done. At a fraction of the cost (I suspect) and you don't have to wait until the next robot patrol circuit before ringing the bells.

    Sheesh.

  • Is 1 in 5 really that unusual? (Score:3, Interesting)

    by jesterzog ( 189797 ) on Saturday July 02, 2005 @03:08AM (#12967831) Journal

    This is one of the technological advancement vital to the ageing population of Japan, where 1 in 5 Japanese are over 65 years old.

    How does this compare with the rest of the world? (Especially reasonably well-off countries.)

    If a population had an average life expectency of 81, which probably isn't too far off, and if people's ages were evenly distributed, then 1 in 5 people over 65 doesn't seem too unusual.

    Well, people's ages aren't evenly distributed. Especially with the post-war baby boomers growing up, though, I would have thought that a lot of countries would either be in similar positions, perhaps even worse positions, or not far off it.

    • The skew in age distribution is becoming a significant problem in Japan, as many young people are avoiding having children in order to further their career or to just have fun. The abortion rate is also pretty high there. The problem is far worse than the baby boom in the U.S., and it's forecasted to get worse - if the birth rate of 1.3 children per woman continues, the population of Japan will be cut in half by the end of this century.

      The problem in Japan, however, isn't anywhere near as bad as it is in
    • Well, people's ages aren't evenly distributed.
      Duh. In order to have even age distribution as a stable situation, everyone would have to live exactly the same time. Even the society depicted in Logan's Run would not have had perfect age distribution -- due to deaths before the age of 'renewal' there would always be more people at younger ages.

  • EX-TER-MI-NATE (Score:3, Funny)

    by l3v1 ( 787564 ) on Saturday July 02, 2005 @03:13AM (#12967839)
    ex-ter-mi-nate ex-ter-mi-nate ex-ter-mi-nate

  • Cost-effective? (Score:3, Interesting)

    by GrouchoMarx ( 153170 ) on Saturday July 02, 2005 @03:23AM (#12967858) Homepage
    OK, so how is a robot that travels around with a camera, spots suspicious activity, and calls the police more cost effective than three times as many fixed-point cameras tied to the same back end computer logic that can call the police?

    I mean it's cool and all, but wouldn't just hooking the security cameras that we have now (at least in the US) up to the same trouble-spotting algorithm be much easier and cheaper and do the same thing?
    • Think of it as a research project. They haven't yet gotten to the point of manufacturing robot servents, but they can make this. If they can sell a few, it will help defray the costs of research, and allow them to keep at it for a few more years.

      Didn't some Japanese company come out with robot attack dogs last year? This is a step or two up from that. And from the looks of the publicity photo, they intend to also have it do certain janitorial chores. (That sure looked like a built-in steam cleaning gu

  • Kinda funny, actually (Score:2, Informative)

    by rfunches ( 800928 )
    I watched this robot on a Japanese morning news show about a week ago, and I have to admit, it's laughable at best and funny as hell in reality. They put it in a demo mode to show what it does when it detects a theft. It kept following one of the hosts, saying "Thief!" in Japanese at random intervals. Being only two or three feet high doesn't help its case.
  • Klatu Berada Nickto
  • In Korea, only old peop...wait, this is Japan! Wow! :)
  • Better then here, where instead of old people, I can't goto the mall because noone speaks ENGLISH there... but at least they arent old!

    Numero uno con "cheese", grande Sprite....

    OK, so not here exactly, 20 miles south of here where I lived for a while...
  • Guardrobo D1 is equipped with a camera and sensors to detect any signs of trouble

    That is just not the way it is at all. Robo tells the ne'erdowells,

    "Come quietly, or there will be ...

    ...trouble."

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