PARO - The Robotic Baby Seal

Image Source: Gizmag

Meet "Paro," the adorable robotic baby seal.  The fact that this cute little animatronic pet comes from Japan may not be a surprise, but the reason he was designed in the first place might be.

As a recently written post on Gizmag explains, Paro was designed to be a companion for the elderly in Japan—a population that is increasing while Japan's birth rate has been shrinking for some time.  Those two trends in combination, with the need for young people to give more time and attention to work, are leaving more elderly with less care and attention.  This growing imbalance is causing concern in Japan, and soon to face other developed countries as well.

Enter Paro, who's fuzzier than the futuristic robot dogs we've seen before and designed "with one simple purpose in mind - to make you love him."  Paro's lifelike interaction and super-cute design have been making that easy since he was first introduced years ago.

"Paro is awake during the morning and afternoon and gets 'sleepy' in the evening. It has five senses, and uses them to perceive touch, light, sound, temperature and posture.

He's programmed to behave as much as possible like a real animal, waking up a little dazed and confused, enjoying cuddles and pats, complaining if he wants attention or 'food' (a battery charge), and reacting with fear and anger to being hit. He gradually learns to respond to whatever name you keep calling him, as well as various other audio cues like greetings and praise."

Sounds cool, but why a robot instead of a real live pet?

"Pets can be a difficult proposition when you're talking about the elderly. For starters, a significant proportion of elderly or disabled folk aren't able to properly care for a pet - then there's the fact that you can't take them with you into a nursing home or hospital situation, because of all the fluff and fur and poop and mayhem and allergies they cause."

Ok then, why a baby seal? (is there more than just super-cuteness?)

"(Designers) AIST originally experimented with building animatronic cats and dogs as the obvious companions of choice, but quickly found that while such familiar animals were initially charming, they lost their appeal when people automatically started comparing them with real animals.

The baby seal form is familiar enough to be cute and adorable, but because most people don't know exactly how real baby seals behave, it's easier to get across the comparison boundary and just enjoy the fluffy little robots for what they are."

In 2002, Paro was (awesomely) named "World's Most Therapeutic Robot" by the Guinness Book of World Records and his use has shown positive effects, especially patients with depression and dementia.

I'm still a little skeptical about how deep a connection can be forged between man and seal-bot, but I like the sound of his results and intentions.

View the full post here >>

More news, info and FAQ from Paro's makers >>

Check out Paro in action:

When I first saw Paro, I immediately thought he was designed to create empathy for real baby seals by activists who want to protect them, and I thought it was a good idea.  I was surprised when I read what he was really designed for and thought it was a good idea too.  It reminded me again that technology and invention are always open to interpretation.  They can often find success in different applications and sometimes their best use is one their inventor never intended.  That's a concept I find really interesting and encouraging (and wrote about in a recent AshokaTECH post with an article and some famous examples).

What do you think of Paro?  Do you see other uses for him and all his cuddly robotic potential?  Leave a comment and tell us what you think!

If you're interested in the topic of the elderly in society, check out some of the innovative things these Ashoka Fellows are doing for aging populations all over the world.