Toyota does housework and the robot development in the nursing field at the early stage of the 2010's.

Toyota has already exhibited a lot of robots by "Love and earth Expo" of holding in 2005, the guide robot (Robena) is developed this year, and operation begins. ([Press Release]).New robot "Mobility robot" and "Violin robot" were announced at the press conference on the sixth besides this "Robena" as part of the result of development of a new "Partner robot" project.

Mobility robot (left) and violin robot(right)

The outline of new robot "Mobility robot" and "Violin robot" is as follows.

- Mobility robot
･Purpose:"Personal movement support in short distance"
･Height: 1.0-1.1 meters
･Weight: 150 kilograms
･The feature: The difference can move with the mechanism that moves the wheel up and down right and left and independently, and the person's short distance movement is supported. (It can climb the slope of the kilometer six ten degree of 20 kilometers per hour that can cruise by one hour charge. )
･Schedule: Proof experiment in the latter half of 2008

- Violin robot
･Purpose: "Housework support in home""Nursing and medical support"
･Height: 1.522 meters
･Weight: 56 kilograms
･The feature: The violin can be played by assuming that the person is a form of a friendly two-legged locomotion, and making both hands and the both arms cooperate. (Operation and the power of person's delicate Hacoyumi can be reproduced. )
･The schedule: It aims at generalizing and making to high performance further.

The robot development project of Toyota aims at practical use from four viewpoints original "Housework support in the home", "Nursing and medical support", "Manufacturing and support", and "Personal movement support in the short distance" of the concept "Life support" as understood from the spec and the purpose etc. of robot "Mobility robot" and "Violin robot" of the new announcement.

I hear increasing the development number of men within three years up to about 200 people from about 100 present people to ensure these business developments, consolidating the development number of men that has been distributed now in the development base that will be newly established in Aichi Prefecture Toyota City by the end of March in 2009, and improving the efficiency. The proof experiment is conducted in each facilities in the Toyota group, and necessary data is accumulated.

President Akira of Watanabe of Toyota that faces the press conference says that it showed the concentration to talk about the ambition that it wants to take an active part aiming at early practical use from can the use of these robot development projects in aging society especially as much as possible, and to assume the robot to be one of the core business in the future.

Many have already been put to practical use in case of)("Industrial robot" like not the person type but a for instance small crane vehicle that helps the person in the factory. However, it is incontrovertible that far development passage still from the request of a use cost, weight, and delicate movement to practical use in the field where life people including nursing and the medical treatment general is helped. However, it is expected that the appearance of "Mobility robot" and "Violin robot" both robots projected on the television that reports on the appearance of the press conference room is seen. I want to expect it of "Life support robot as the final product" that will reach it at last in the future.