PARO, the most therapeutic robot in the world, meets Vietnamese
The Japan Foundation Center for Cultural Exchange in Vietnam shares the pleasure to introduce a lecture on PARO with demonstration “LIFE INNOVATION by Japan’s Robot Technologies” by Dr. Takanori Shibata, the inventor of PARO on Wednesday 29 September 2010 in Hanoi.
PARO, a baby seal robot, is known worldwide as the most therapeutic robot holding the Guinness World Records. It has tactile sensors and responds to sounds and can learn a name. It can show emotions such as surprise, happiness and anger. It can also recognize light and dark, being active during the day and going to sleep at night. It has a calming effect on and elicit emotional responses in patients of hospitals and nursing homes, similar to Animal-Assisted Therapy.
The cute eyes and gentle movements of PARO attract many people. It is surely cute, but why not a cat or a dog? How does PARO work for therapy? Are there any cultural differences between Asia and Europe in the expectations of the usage of PARO?
In this lecture, Dr. Shibata, the inventor of PARO and Senior Research Scientist at National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology in Japan, will answer to these basic questions and explain details how PARO works for therapy, especially for elderly people and people at medical facilities, with the demonstration of 2 units of PARO. The audience can also enjoy touching and communicating with PARO in the final session of the lecture.
The lecture starts at 14:30 (doors open at 14:00) on Wednesday 29 September at the conference room on 10th floor of Ta Quang Buu Library Building, Hanoi University of Technology and Science (1 Dai Co Viet). The admission is free, with first-come, first-served basis. The lecture will be delivered in Japanese with Vietnamese interpretation.
Information on the lecture
Organized by: The Japan Foundation Center for Cultural Exchange in VN
Date & Time: [Open] 14:00 [Start] 14:30
Wednesday 29 September 2010
Venue: Conference Room, 10th floor, Ta Quang Buu Library Building
Hanoi University of Technology and Science
1 Dai Co Viet, Hai Ba Trung, Hanoi
Language: Japanese with Vietnamese interpretation
Admission: Free (First-come, first-served basis)
[References]
Article on PARO in New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/05/science/05robot.html?_r=3&pagewanted=1
Article on PARO in the Wall Street Journal
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704463504575301051844937276.html?KEYWORDS=paro
Profile
Dr Takanori Shibata
Senior Research Scientist
National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology
Japan
Dr. Takanori Shibata was born in ‘67 and received B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. in Electronic and Mechanical Engineering from Nagoya University in ‘89, ‘91, ‘92, respectively. He was a research scientist at AIST ’93 to ’98. Concurrently, he was a research scientist at the Artificial Intelligence Lab., MIT from ’95 to ’98, and a visiting research scientist at the Artificial Intelligence Lab., Univ. of Zurich in ‘96. Dr. Shibata has been a senior research scientist at AIST since ’98. Concurrently, he was the Deputy Director for Information and Communication Technology Policy, Bureau of Science, Technology, and Innovation Policy, Cabinet Office, Government of Japan from ’09 to ‘10. His research interests include human-robot interaction, robot therapy, and humanitarian de-mining. He was certified as the inventor of a seal robot named Paro, the World’s Most Therapeutic Robot, by Guinness World Records in 2002. He has received many awards including the Robot of the Year by Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, Japan in 2006, the outstanding young person of the world by Junior Chamber International in 2004, and the Japanese Prime Minister’s Award in 2003.
For inquiries: Ms. Ha / Mr. Yoshioka
The Japan Foundation Center for Cultural Exchange in Vietnam
27 Quang Trung, Hoan Kiem, Hanoi
TEL 04-3944-7419 / www.jpf.org.vn