Mamoru - Spooky Looking Robot to Assist Elders

Looking at the image you might wonder if this is a good time to be a
senior citizen in Japan. But worry not, for inspite of its downright
spooky looks The Mamoru (which means to protect in Japanese) is a benign
robot that guides forgetful elderly people to their glasses, slippers,
medicine, etc.

The Mamoru has been designed by the University of Tokyo, I don’t
know why they chose to keep the poor robot almost limbless, the two
appendages hanging from its sides are poor apologies for hands. In any
case the robot is incapable of locomotion or making use of those hands.
The eyes of The Mamoru are actually wide angle camera lenses fitted with
image recognition software. Once you have registered objects with the
Mamoru it will monitor their locations and inform you upon asking. It
can also be programmed to tell you when it is time for medicine.

The Mamoru project is a prestigious one with noted Japanese firms such
as Toyota Motors and Fujitsu helping out with it. However, commercial
production is still a decade away. Maybe when the first commercial
Mamoru rolls down the assembly line, it will be capable of far more than
being the “memory” of senior citizens.