Channel NewsAsia 2 Jan 08;
SINGAPORE: You've heard of pet therapy - where dogs and cats are brought to hospitals and nursing homes to cheer the sick or elderly. But robotic pet therapy?
Well, Singaporeans will get to meet the latest robotic seals from Japan - at Asia Pacific's first Silver Industry Conference and Exhibition (SICEX) to be held from 10 to 13 January at Suntec City.
96-year-old Madam Loo Chay has not laughed so hard in a long time and it's all thanks to robotic seal Paro - which means robot in Japanese.
The furbot winks when its name is called, wriggles when petted and shows displeasure when ignored!
The US$4,000 robotic pet has some 30 tactile, visual, audio and posture sensors under its soft artificial anti-bacterial fur. It can mimic animal behaviour over time, and even develop its own personality.
And its healing effects were recognised by the Guiness Book of World Records. Paro is officially certified as the "World's Most Therapeutic Robot" - for its psychological, physiological and social effects on physical interactions.
Dr Edwin Lim, Physician Manager of Orange Valley Nursing Home, said: "Animal-assisted therapy is an integral part of the therapy programmes of many residential aged care facilities.
"And such therapy has been shown to reduce blood pressure, decrease agitation and improve social interaction among dementia patients. Robotic pets can (also) replicate such therapy as live animals."
Most hospitals and nursing homes do not allow pets, especially in the wards, for fear of possible negative effects of the animals to the patients, such as allergies, infections, biting and scratching.
But with robotic pets such as Paro, there are no such worries and the best part is that they require minimal maintenance, yet they are always available for pet therapy on demand.
Mr Lim continued: "For volunteers bringing their pets in, we have to actually organise events around their schedule, once a month or twice a month - so it depends on when they're free to come after work. Most of them have their full-time jobs.
"Having a robot here (and) switching it on many times, whenever we have new cases coming in or agitated behaviour showing up, we can bring this out to calm them."
Now into its eighth generation since it was developed in Japan, the latest model can be programmed to recognise seven different languages - Chinese, English, French, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese and Spanish. - CNA/vm
