Robots with disabilities

Toyota has introduced a new line of robots designed to help people with disabilities live more easily. The robots are called "human assisted robots" (HSRs), which can walk around the house, uncover curtains, pick up objects on the floor.

Users easily control HSR via tablet. The HRS can also be equipped with a tablet, which helps people with disabilities and other family members communicate with Skype. Not only does it pick up objects on the floor, the HRS robot arm also has a high shelf for picking up items at the discretion of the owner. It uses energy saving and slow work to avoid causing accidents or injuries to the user.

Technical specifications indicate that HRS weighs in at just over 32kg and can handle up to 1.7kg. Equipped with the Prosense (Microsoft Kinect) sensor and headend-mounted camera, HRS can sense depth and visibility to humans as well as other objects.

According to Gizmag, Toyota has partnered with the Yokohama Rehabilitation Center to test HRS since 2011, gathering patient comments to finalize the HRS design. HRS will be officially launched in late September. There are no specific rates but according to the new law, in Japan, health insurance will cover 90% of the cost of supporting people with disabilities using HRS.