Say Goodbye to Backseat Drops: Nissan’s Iruyo Robot Calms Kids on the Go

Nissan has developed Iruyo, a two-piece animatronic “intelligent puppet” that detects sleep. In partnership with an advertising company and a children’s product chain, the Japanese automaker created the Iruyo to showcase its driver assistance capabilities.

Iruyo can discover sleep patterns in the eyes of children. Children interact with the basic Iruyo, a muppet-like robot, through hand gestures, songs and voice commands. When it senses the baby is asleep, it tells the little Iruyo in front of the driver to close his eyes, according to The Verge.

Voice commands can cause little Iruyo to play peek-a-boo or clap. This solution addresses the challenge of calming a crying baby and ensuring the parents’ peace of mind, especially when the child’s car seat remains hidden from the driver.

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Nissan’s Iruyo and Akachan Honpo robots can help parents supervise their children while driving. A poll conducted by the two companies revealed the obstacles Japanese parents face when driving alone with their children.

According to Wired, more 60% of Japanese parents drive alone and their children at least once or twice a week, according to the report.

More than 80 percent of respondents said they tried to comfort and monitor their children while driving, especially when they cried. Children under 15 months of age have seats that face the back of the driver’s seat, making parent-child communication difficult.

Nissan and Akachan Honpo created mysterious Iruyo robots with sensors and cameras to track young people on the go. The robots also help parents take care of children while driving.

In further studies and experiments by the Faculty of Health Sciences of Kitasato University, real parents and children were faced with these issues.

Iruyo’s powerful and mysterious robot held 90% of children’s attention during the show, resulting in long-term attention. After activating the robot, half of the children had more positive emotions.

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The red, pink and vanilla colored Iruyo robots attract and attract children’s attention. Associate Professor Takushi Kawamorita from Kitasato University’s Faculty of Health Sciences suggested red as the main color because it attracts children early.

Pink and vanilla were added to make the robots look good.

The Rise of Robot Babysitters

According to DesignBoom, Iruyo’s mysterious robots are a concept model, but Nissan and Akachan Honpo are aiming to develop them further.

The comments of the participants in the test last February, held at the Akachan Honpo LaLaport Yokohama Store, could help improve these robots technology and the performance of childminders.

Robotic nannies, or “robotic companions,” have become popular because of advances in robotics and sensor technology.

In 2017, Toyota launched the Kirobo Mini, a small robot “communication partner” that notifies drivers of low gas levels.

However, after a year, the Krobo Mini was withdrawn, raising concerns about its effectiveness rather than a marketing ploy.

In 2020, Moxie, a 20-inch Teletubby-like robot, debuted as a child’s best friend following the release of the Kirobo Mini. Snorble, a ghost-like robot, debuted in 2021 and offers children specially targeted nighttime rituals.

While these smart toys can’t replace human love, knowledge and friendship, Iruyo’s inventors hope they can make driving more fun for kids and less stressful for parents.

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