OFweekrobotAs the world’s population ages and medical needs rise, the development of assistive Robots is on the fast track. In fact, the entire service Robot Industry is expected to continue to improve in recent years, and the global market size is expected to reach US$82 billion in 2021.
Toyota has successfully completed testing of a new life assistance robot. In a test, the robot was sent to the home of a paralyzed veteran in the United States, with the aim of helping people with disabilities achieve simple self-care.
The robot (HumanSupportRobot, referred to as HSR) is equipped with a wheeled base and vision sensors, which can move on flat ground.The body is equipped with a storagemechanicalThe arm also has a video call function and is mainly used in major hospitals in Japan. The development of HSR can be traced back to 2007, when Toyota launched the robot partner program, and then the company began to test the feasibility of robots, such as helping paralyzed patients walk.
Doug Moore, senior manager of Toyota’s Human Assistive Technology Division, said Toyota seeks to enrich and diversify the lives of people with disabilities through increased mobility, including developing technology solutions to assist people with limited mobility. The research and development of HSR and the testing that Romy participated in are both areas of expansion of the company’s business to help people with disabilities take control of their lives.
Against the background of the aging population and the increase in first-aid rates, the number of patients with partial paralysis due to stroke and other factors is expected to increase, and the demand for ensuring the quality and quantity of rehabilitation through robots is also increasing. Therefore, Japanese companies are racing to develop robots that improve the symptoms of paralysis .
In addition to Toyota, Teijin Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (Tokyo) officially put into use the rehabilitation robot “ReoGo-J” for the hand and wrist in the fall of 2016, and the Kansai Rehabilitation Hospital (located in Toyonaka City, Osaka Prefecture), known for its cutting-edge medical care, etc. This robot has been introduced.
In addition, Panasonic and Keio University jointly conducted experiments using robots that restore the neural circuits of paralyzed fingers for treatment. Sensors attached to the scalp are said to read brainwaves when the patient wants to move, and the machine stretches the patient’s fingers while adding electrical stimulation. The person in charge of Panasonic expects “a technology that can strongly assist therapists” and strives to put it into practical use in three years.
Similar to the situation in Japan, today’s China is also facing social problems such as the aging population and the increasing proportion of people with disabilities. It can be predicted that as time goes by, we will need to invest a lot of manpower, material and financial resources in the future to care for the elderly and the disabled, and this will also become an important burden on our country. If we can provide many household robots that specialize in nursing work to take care of the diet and daily life of the elderly and the disabled, it will not only improve their quality of life, but also relieve the current pressure on the country and society.
Therefore, the huge market prospect is driving the rapid growth of sales of domestic service robots such as assistive robots. According to statistics, the sales of assistive robots for the disabled in 2016 increased by 7.5% compared with the previous year, from 4713 units in 2015 to 5066 units in 2016.
A few days ago, the Industrial research institution Analysys International released a report showing that the market size of China’s service robots reached 7.29 billion yuan in 2016, a substantial increase of 44.6% year-on-year. In addition, Analysys International predicts that China’s service robot market will continue to grow in the next three years, and the scale in 2019 is expected to be close to 15.2 billion yuan.
At the global level, China Investment Consulting predicts that the global service robot market will reach 45 billion US dollars in 2017, and the average annual compound growth rate in the next five years (2017-2021) will be about 16.19%. In 2021, the global service robot market will reach 82 billion Dollar.
The booming market expectations show that service robots, especially personal-use robots such as home assistance, have a promising future.It is in view of this that Germany, one of the world’s four major robot giants,industryRobot maker Kuka began planning to enter the consumer market, and the breakthrough was the personal assistant robot. This plan will be completed in cooperation with Midea, hoping to use Midea’s experience in the consumer market to explore.
KUKA obviously sees the changes in the current robot market, and the development of the consumer market is much faster than that of the Industrial field. According to the International Federation of Robotics, the sales volume of industrial robots in 2015 just exceeded 250,000 units, but the shipment of consumer-grade robots exceeded 10 million units last year. No one can ignore such a big market.
Therefore, with the further intensification of global aging and the increasing demand for escort, education, and medical care, service robots will continue to maintain rapid development and promote new changes in various fields of society.
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