Robotics | Comforting Babyloid robot to alleviate loneliness
January 18th, 2012 by rbanks
Cuddly Babyloid Robot Comforts Lonely Senior Citizens
"According to the initial prototype studies in Japanese nursing homes, 8-minute interactions totaling 90 minutes a day alleviated residents stress and depression. Babyloid’s creator, Masayoshi Kanoh, gave the robot a simple smiling face “to avoid the creepiness a realistic baby face can have.” If the prototype is produced for the mass market, a Babyloid interactive robot baby will set consumers back around $1,250.00. Although Babyloid has good intentions, we aren’t sure if buying a human replacement to interact with is any less depressing than being lonely in the first place." 
via Inhabitat
