Robot is the perfect ‘pick me up’

Toyota’s new robot that glides around like R2-D2 is devoted to a single task — picking things up.

HSR, short for “human support robot”, comes with a single mechanical arm that can grasp objects of various shapes and sizes and also pick up smaller items with a tiny suction cup.

It does not have other tricks in its repertoire, except for a computer panel on its head for surfing the internet.

Kouichi Ikeda, its engineer, is serious about using it to help around regular homes. First people with disabilities, and then for the elderly in general.

Picking up is especially challenging for people with spinal disorders and other ailments that hamper the ability to stoop down and grab, he said.

“Although it can only do one simple task of picking up, it’s already making disabled people quite happy. We’re just getting stated, but eventually we want it to enter people’s homes,” Ikeda said at an exhibition in Yokohama, south-west of Tokyo.

Nearly 40% of Japan’s population will be 65 or older by 2060, and with the rest of the developed world and some developing nations following that pattern, Toyota is banking on the demand for robot helpers to grow.

“People feel more comfortable asking a robot to pick up after them than asking a human helper,” said Tadashi Hatakenaka, manager and engineer at the Yokohama Rehabilitation Centre.

A robot like HSR is also ideal to replace service dogs, which go through special training to help people with various disabilities, including those who use wheelchairs, have balance issues or may be prone to seizures.