Everyone keeps talking about how janky the Comdex trade show was this year, but it couldn’t have been that bad judging by all the weird, offbeat gadgets that surfaced there, like the Peeg, which we mentioned yesterday. The latest one to turn up is Paro, a therapeutic robotic baby harp seal created by Japan’s National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology:
Engineer Takanori Shibata said Paro prototypes are being tested in Japan and Sweden at nursing homes, and with autistic and handicapped children. “We know that pet therapy helps physically, psychologically and socially, and Paro does the same thing for people who are unable to care for a live pet,” said Shibata. Surface tactile sensors beneath its fur and whiskers trigger Paro to move and respond to petting: eyes open and close, flippers move. Just holding and stroking the critter has a calming effect, as Comdex (Computer Dealer Expo) visitors who checked it out soon discovered.
The Paro, which costs around $2,500 (which is probably more than an actual live baby harp seal costs), should start showing up in children’s hospitals here in the US soon.
