Paro, a Baby Seal Robot Born in Japan 2009/09/14 The Danish documentary film Mechanical Love tells about a baby seal robot called Paro that was developed in Japan. The film is being shown at film festivals around the world and has generated broad interest.

Paro was developed not just as a replacement for pets but as an experiment in robot therapy in medical institutions and welfare facilities. Studies have been conducted in Japan, Denmark, Italy, France, the United States, and other countries. Contact with Paro has been demonstrated to have therapeutic effects on dementia, lifting the spirits of old people and relieving stress.

Paro can "see" using its light sensor, "hear" through a microphone, and "feel" via its whisker sensor. Using these senses it can respond autonomously, perceiving changes in light, understanding words, and recognizing when it is being petted.

Since the first model was built in 2005, Paro has been introduced in about 20 countries, and approximately 1,300 have been sold. It is recognized in the Guinness Book of World Records as the "world’s most therapeutic robot." In December 2008 it caused a stir when exhibited at a museum of decorative arts in the Palais du Louvre in Paris as part of an exhibit on Japanese sensibility.

Thanks to Paro’s fame through the film Mechanical Love and the recognition that the robot has a high therapeutic effect, Denmark has a plan to place a Paro in nearly all nursing homes in the country by 2011. In line with this, the Nanto workshop has received an order for 1,000 Paro robots from Denmark, and the local manufacturer has begun full-scale production.

Robots generally have a negative image in Western countries, but as Paro has demonstrated its emotional appeal, and as ordinary people have come to accept it into their lives, a paradigm shift in how robots are perceived may be taking place.

Related Websites
- Welcome to the webpages for PARO!
http://paro.jp/