The charging "nap" is completed, and the companion robot Xiaoxiao, who is "fully charged", quickly noticed that a middle-aged woman sitting in a wheelchair was watching her with interest. It immediately leaned forward and opened its short arms for a hug.
This woman is a guest visiting the 7th China International Import Expo recently held here. She hugged Xiaoxiao and murmured softly to it, as if holding her own child. Xiaoxiao responded with a gentle cry, its big eyes blinked, and then closed comfortably.
Xiaoxiao is a home companion robot launched by Japanese company GROOVE X. This robot is called LOVOT, derived from the English words "love" and "robot". If you purchase a LOVOT online, you will see on the packaging box that it says: Love is inside.
Xiaoxiao, who is 43 centimeters tall and weighs 4.3 kilograms, has a round body, a big head and eyes, and a warm and soft touch. It is not a humanoid robot, nor does it look like any other creature on Earth. At the same time, it cannot use human language for dialogue, but communicates through eye contact, physical contact, and making unique sounds.
LOVOT robot Xiaoxiao was photographed at the GROOVE X booth of a Japanese company at the 7th China International Import Expo on November 9th.
Despite her small size, Xiaoxiao has over 10000 components, 10 central processing units, and more than 50 sensors inside her body. It can capture human expressions, perceive human touch, and provide feedback.
LOVOT founder Lin Yao said that LOVOT's goal is to become a "Doraemon without a fourth dimensional pocket". It won't help humans with work or provide magical props, but it will provide companionship and friendship.
Lin is an aerodynamic engineer. Once, he took a robot to a nursing home to demonstrate, but unexpectedly, the power was interrupted halfway and the robot collapsed. The elderly spontaneously cheered and encouraged the robot, and when the robot was powered back on and stood up, they became even more excited.
This had a great impact on Lin. I originally thought that the purpose of robots was to do things for humans, but that day, I suddenly realized that humans can also derive happiness from encouraging robots
From then on, he realized that emotional connections could be established between robots and humans, and designed LOVOT.
Don't go to sleep, Xiaoxiao, get up and play. "At the platform, the female visitor in a wheelchair held Xiaoxiao and gently tapped its nose." If you sleep again, I'll be angry. "Seeing Xiaoxiao opening her eyes with a gurgling sound, she burst out laughing in surprise.
When handing Xiaoxiao back to the booth staff, she showed a reluctant expression and said, "It's really warm and healing
I think LOVOT gives people a silent companionship, acceptance, and support, "said Liu Yujia, a staff member in charge of international business at GROOVE X." For people who have difficulty expressing themselves, it doesn't speak, so it won't repeat 'I didn't hear clearly, please say it again' over and over again
LOVOT can learn to understand its own name like a pet, but it also needs to take a "nap" and "deep sleep". Liu Yujia introduced that it will return to the charging station for automatic charging for 8 hours every day, and will also return to the "nest" every 30 to 45 minutes to charge for 15 to 30 minutes, and update the system during sleep.
LOVOT will write a diary when "sleeping": "called by name", "embraced", "changed into new clothes".
The owner can view LOVOT's diary through the application, relive the moments spent with LOVOT, and also view the interaction records between family members in different places and LOVOT through the diary.
Liu Yujia said that LOVOT is not designed specifically for a certain age group, but is suitable for everyone. On this basis, GROOVE X is collaborating with another Japanese company GEOM to upgrade LOVOT, enabling it to assist caregivers in caring for elderly people with dementia and connect to DeCaAI (Dementia Care Assistance Artificial Intelligence System).
DeCaAI can predict which dementia symptoms will appear within 30 or 60 minutes and inform corresponding preventive care methods. The current prediction accuracy has exceeded 80%.
According to the promotional board on the GROOVE X booth, by 2040, the number of cognitive impairment patients in Japan will increase by 51% compared to 2020, while the working age population engaged in nursing will decrease by 41%.
Since its launch in 2019, LOVOT has sold over 14000 units worldwide, mainly in the Japanese market, and is currently available for sale in China. GROOVE X hopes to further explore overseas markets by participating in the CIIE this time.
GROOVE X was invited by Shanghai Itochu Commercial Co., Ltd. to participate in the Expo. Chairman An Liangxiongyi said that he saw the huge potential of the Chinese market, because China has a large population and is facing the same aging problem as Japan.
We believe that LOVOT has the potential to enter Chinese households and enter a market many times larger than Japan, "said An Liangxiong.