日本称到2020年机器人将可以照顾80%的老年人 [英国媒体]

Japan: robots will care for 80% of elderly by 2020

日本称到2020年机器人将可以照顾80%的老年人



Japanese government wants to increase acceptance of technology that could help fill the gap in the nursing workforce

日本政府希望增加民众对科技的接受度，科技将有助于填补护理人员的空缺。

Japan’s elderly are being told to get used to being looked after by robots.

日本的老年人被告知要习惯以后由机器人来照顾他们。

With Japan’s ageing society facing a predicted shortfall of 370,000 caregivers by 2025, the government wants to increase community acceptance of technology that could help fill the gap in the nursing workforce.

在2025年日本的老龄化社会将面临高达37万人的护理人员缺口，所以日本政府希望提高民众对科技的接受度，以此来帮助填补护理人员的空缺。

Developers have focused their efforts on producing simple robotic devices that help frail residents get out of their bed and into a wheelchair, or that can ease senior citizens into bathtubs.

开发人员致力于制造出简单的机器人设备，它们可以帮助体弱的人从床上起身并坐到轮椅上，或者将老年人放到浴缸里。

But the government sees a wider range of potential applications and recently revised its list of priorities to include robots that can predict when patients might need to use the toilet.

但是政府看到了机器人更广泛的潜在用途，并在最近修改了研发的优先清单，其中包括可以预测病人何时需要使用厕所的机器人。

Dr Hirohisa Hirukawa, director of robot innovation research at Japan’s National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, said the aims included easing the burden on nursing staff and boosting the autonomy of people still living at home.

Hirohisa Hirukawa博士，是日本国家先进工业科学和技术研究所的机器人创新研究主任，他说研究的目的，一方面在于要减轻护理人员的负担，一方面则要提高行动不便的人在家里的自由度。

“Robotics cannot solve all of these issues; however, robotics will be able to make a contribution to some of these difficulties,” he said.

他说：“机器人技术不能解决所有的这些问题；但是机器人技术将能够为解决其中的一些困难做出贡献。”

Hirukawa said lifting robotics had so far been deployed in only about 8% of nursing homes in Japan, partly because of the cost and partly because of the “the mindset by the people on the frontline of caregiving that after all it must be human beings who provide this kind of care”.

Hirukawa博士说，在日本只有大约8%的养老院有用到举重物机器人，部分原因是因为成本，还有一部分原因是因为“人们在观念上还是认为看护工作要由人来做”。

He added: “On the side of those who receive care, of course initially there will be psychological resistance.”

他补充说：“对于那些接受看护的人来说，最初肯定会有心理上的抵触。”

Hirukawa’s research centre has worked on a government-backed project to help 98 manufacturers test nursing-care robotic devices over the past five years, 15 of which have been developed into commercial products.

Hirukawa博士所在的研究中心曾经从事一个政府项目，在过去的五年中帮助了98个制造商测试护理机器人设备，其中有15个机器人已经开发成商业产品。

In the interests of lowering cost and complexity, these types of robots do not yet resemble humans or talk to users, but deploy smart technology to help people in specific situations.

为了降低成本和复杂性，这类的机器人现在还不像人类，也不能跟用户交流，但是已经使用了智能技术在特定情况下可以帮助人们。

One example is an electric-boosted mobility aid that a person can hold onto when walking around city streets.

有一个例子就是移动辅助电动机器人，人可以抓着它在城市街道上走动。

The sensors detect if the user is going uphill and a booster function is activated. When the walker is detected going downhill, an automatic brake kicks in to reduce falls.

如果用户要上坡的话，传感器可以检测到，并启动助推器功能。当用户被发现要下坡时，自动刹车会启动，防止人们摔倒。

“In Japan we already have motor-supported bicycles so it is like a version of an assist for walking,” Hirukawa said during a demonstration at the Foreign Press Center Japan.

“在日本我们已经有了电动自行车，所以移动辅助机器人就是像这样的一种辅助行走方式。”Hirukawa博士在日本外国记者新闻中心演示时说道。

The next research priorities include wearable mobility aid devices and technology that guides people to the toilet at what it predicts is the right time.

下一个研究重点包括可以帮助人们穿衣服的移动辅助机器人，还有可以在预测的正确时间点引导人们到厕所的技术。

According to Japan’s robot strategy, the government hopes that four in five care recipients accept having some support provided by robots by 2020.

根据日本的机器人战略，政府希望到2020年五个接受看护的人中，有四个人能够接受机器人提供的一些帮助。