Nissan: Robot calms children in child seats while driving

Car manufacturer Nissan Motors and baby product company Akachan Honpo have developed a combination of two robots that keep an eye on young children while they sit in a child seat in the back seat. The robot not only looks after the child, but can also play with them and take care of them.

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Parents cannot watch their young children while driving, especially if the child seat is placed backwards in the back seat, which happens in Japan. This makes communication between parent and child difficult. This makes it difficult to control the baby and prevent him from whining and crying if he is not feeling well. One study in Japan showed that 60 percent of parents drive alone with their young children at least once or twice a week. More than 80 percent said that they could not comfort or care for their children if they cried.

Nissan and Akachan Honpo are convinced that the system, called Iruyo, is intended to prevent this. The system consists of two beautiful robots modeled after a beautiful monster-like creature, which are available in red, white and pink. The color red was chosen because researchers have found that it attracts more attention to the child. Robots can be customized with accessories, such as glasses or helmets.

Non-verbal communication

A large robot sits in the back seat so the child can see it. A small robot attaches to the dashboard and aims at one of the parents in the car.

Both robots are equipped with various recognition devices so that they can recognize the facial expressions of parents and children. This is transmitted to the two robots and executed by signal. This enables non-verbal communication in both directions. For example, parents can see when their children are sleeping because the robot on the dashboard closes its eyes.

The dashboard robot also responds to voice commands such as “I’m here,” “Let’s sing a song,” and “cuckoo.” The robot in the back seat then provides the appropriate signals that the walking child should recognize and calm down.

Studies conducted by the Faculty of Health Sciences of Kitasato University using the system revealed that 90 percent of children were irritated by Iruyo while in the car seat. For more than half of them, their general condition improved.

Iruyo’s two robots are still just a concept. There are currently no plans to bring the system to market. The robots will initially accompany further studies.

(olb)