Get Autoblog in your Google feed
In it’s slow conquest of the world, Toyota is planning to start selling service robots
in Japan by 2010. These robots would be capable of caring for the elderly or perhaps serving tea.
Toyota sees an aging population and declining birthrate as opening the door to demand for service robots in child
care and nursing homes in Japan. Time will tell whether this is a good idea or not. There could be a
technology-elderly compatibility issue that might prevent robots from being popular in nursing homes. Most elderly
would probably prefer a human being caring for them in their exile to a home. Children might be more likely to
take to a robot care taker, but most children are a handful for their smarter human guardians.