Personal Robots
When we think of robots in the real world, most of us think of industrial robots used in factories. We rarely think of personal robots. And yet personal robots are increasingly common in… Japan. And for now, only Japan. Alec Ross explains why personal robots are common in Japan in his book, The Industries of the Future . The one phrase answer: ageing population. - 25% of its population is older than 65 years; - Life expectancy continues to rise; so the above percentages will increase to 29% by 2020, and 39% by 2050; - Add to that low birthrates and you have very few caretakers; - And Japan doesn’t exactly welcome foreign workers, so using them to fill the gap isn’t an option. Even as the set of tasks personal robots can do remains low for now, it is likely to increase with time. Some already have “almost-spiritual doubt...