Child robots help parents learn how to raise children

Japanese scientists have just released a robot capable of emitting giggles and stirring when people touch its body.

According to AFP, Yotaro - the name of the robot - has a rather strange appearance with eyes emitting green light and quite large cheeks. It is an invention of Tsukuba University in Japan.

'Yotaro is a type of robot that you can communicate physically like a real kid , ' said Hiroki Kunimura, a robot expert at Tsukuba University.

A student of Tsukuba University caresses Yotaro robot.Photo: AFP.

AFP said, Yotaro's face is pink made of transparent soft silicon. A projector connected to a computer helps the robot to show the state corresponding to crying, snoring, sleeping and laughing. A speaker outside emits giggles.

Yotaro has the ability to change the facial expression state and move body parts when someone touches its face and body. Sensors detect physical contact, and Yotaro's expressive state changes depend on the frequency of contact. For example, robots will get angry or cry if too much is tickled.

Yotaro's nose is capable of releasing 'sweat' droplets through two holes with the help of pumping equipment.

Although this child robot possesses a large, round head and exaggerated facial features, the team hopes Yotaro can help young parents learn how to raise children.

Masatada Muramoto, the leader of the research team, said his team came up with the idea of ​​building a robot for children who have not yet learned to speak because everyone feels the same for unspoken children. In addition, such robots are much simpler than talking robots.

Previously, scientists at Osaka University in Japan also launched a robot capable of mimicking a child in the crawling stage. This is part of a project to study human learning and speaking.

M3-neony has an identical baby body with a height of 50 cm and a weight of 3.5 kg. It has 22 motors, 90 tactile sensors and many microphones near the eyes and ears.

When the order moves forward, the robot - in the lying position - will wave and pedal, then learn the movements that allow it to rise and crawl.

Yotaro and M3-neony are the first two groundbreaking products in the robot revolution in Japan in the context of cherry blossoms seeking solutions to deal with the demographic crisis that forces the labor is decreasing while the number of old people is increasing. Yotaro's manufacturing team hopes their products will increase the desire for childbirth in Japanese people. Currently more than 20% of the Japanese population is aged 65 or older. According to experts, this rate may increase to 40% by 2050.