Japanese Cafe Found A Way To Employ Paralysed People As Waiters
Robot waiters are not a new concept in the technology sphere. They are already used in several cafes, such as Naulo restaurant in Nepal which has employed three humanoid waiters called ‘Gingers’. However, a startup Ory Lab has taken this concept to brand new level.
More info: orylab.com | arca-gia.com
This month a Dawn Ver Beta cafe was opened up Tokyo, Japan for two weeks. It used Orly Lab’s robots to serve customers and the most brilliant part about the cafe is that all of the robots were remotely controlled by severely disabled people, for the sole purpose of helping disabled people gain more independence in their lives.
There were 10 people working at the cafe. The employees suffered from diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and other spinal cord injuries. They operated 4-foot robots called OriHime-D, from their home and were paid 1,000 yen ($9) per hour.
The robots were controlled with the help of a computer which tracks the eye movements of bed-bound people. It allowed them to move robots, make them pick up objects and even talk to customers. Essentially, disabled people had the ability to use these robots as ‘proxies’. “I want to create a world in which people who can’t move their bodies can work too,” said Kentaro Yoshifuji, CEO of Ory Lab. Inc.
However this cafe, as its name suggests, was only in the beta stage for a couple of weeks. The creators are still raising funds to open the cafe permanently for 2020.
240Kviews
Share on FacebookOutstanding. Whoever came up with the idea. May he be blessed for all his or her years.
This is great. Being able to work and draw a paycheck is such a satisfying thing. What a difference it makes to these people's lives.
Not even close, Japan has almost zero welfare programs to help their disabled or handicap citizens, or their homeless. Like most problems in Japan, the official government stance is to ignore it like it doesn't exist.
Load More Replies...The Japanese, what will they think of next! This is a marvelous concept, 1000 upvotes!
I applaud this idea. I really hope this gets off the ground and become a permanent feature. I think it would help a lot of disabled people who are house bound or bedbound to feel they are needed. I hope to see something like this all over the world.
Such a smart and humane idea. From what I’ve read, severely disabled people often think of undergoing euthanasia. Many of these thoughts are spurred by the sense of helplessness of a life at the fringes of the able-bodied (a vague term, yet just a requisite here) society. I think it’s such a brilliant way to incorporate them back, make them feel in-clusive, active, not abandoned. This white avatar robot clients interact with does not dehumanise the bed-ridden operators, but makes clients treat them without prejudice. It’s paradoxical, however, that it is the machine, a robot, that makes them “regain” their social functions and “brings them back” to the society.
Stories like this make me happy to be alive in this day and age, where sci-fi becomes a reality for the benefit of mankind
I know many handicapped people. Think they'd really enjoy working this way. Not everyone has the opportunity to work from home. Could also become an option for older people who want to work a little so they don't become depressed.
I do as well and they are not all keen on this. There are fears as to how much of a choice they will have.
Load More Replies...Didn’t get around to seeing it yet, but this is really sick. You have barely any kind of life at all and then you’re pressured to live as a robot that serves people, wtf??
Load More Replies...Things like this are so awesome that they make me angry at people who deny science. Without science, we wouldn’t have incredible things like this.
One way to keep automation from taking away all jobs. Recently I was in an office that had a virtual receptionist, a great big interactive screen, instead of an actual human being. Fiddle! I want to deal with a PERSON, not a machine!
What a nightmare, as if it’s not bad enough to be bedbound and immobilised, then you’re asked to contribute to society without any other benefit than some money in the bank. Living your life through a robot who supposedly ‘connects’ with other people?? Seriously.
I love you, Japan. Thanks for being weird and cool while the whole world is too busy cancelling people that don't 'fit in'.
Umm yeah, definitely not. There massive pressure to fit in japanese society. Foreigners are treated nicely because they're seen as exotic zoo animals. I have a japanese female friend that tells me she's happy to be back from japan because she feels ostracized for being 5'4", 2 inches above norm. Imagine how much worse it is for girl growing up really above norm like 5'8"-6" tall
Load More Replies...I don't think this is so great at all : if you ppush the concept far enough, soon there will be no excuse at all for not working. Are we really in this world for the purpose of working and being paid money ? Is this what life is ? Even paralyzed in your hospital bed, you still have to "go to work" every morning ? It makes me shiver...
I can't wait until they can transfer human consciousness into machines.
Tell that to their homeless, or their senior citizens, or their unemployed, or pretty much any foreign resident that needs help in one way or another. Japan is a country of xenophobic racists that worry more about face and tradition then helping.
Load More Replies...Outstanding. Whoever came up with the idea. May he be blessed for all his or her years.
This is great. Being able to work and draw a paycheck is such a satisfying thing. What a difference it makes to these people's lives.
Not even close, Japan has almost zero welfare programs to help their disabled or handicap citizens, or their homeless. Like most problems in Japan, the official government stance is to ignore it like it doesn't exist.
Load More Replies...The Japanese, what will they think of next! This is a marvelous concept, 1000 upvotes!
I applaud this idea. I really hope this gets off the ground and become a permanent feature. I think it would help a lot of disabled people who are house bound or bedbound to feel they are needed. I hope to see something like this all over the world.
Such a smart and humane idea. From what I’ve read, severely disabled people often think of undergoing euthanasia. Many of these thoughts are spurred by the sense of helplessness of a life at the fringes of the able-bodied (a vague term, yet just a requisite here) society. I think it’s such a brilliant way to incorporate them back, make them feel in-clusive, active, not abandoned. This white avatar robot clients interact with does not dehumanise the bed-ridden operators, but makes clients treat them without prejudice. It’s paradoxical, however, that it is the machine, a robot, that makes them “regain” their social functions and “brings them back” to the society.
Stories like this make me happy to be alive in this day and age, where sci-fi becomes a reality for the benefit of mankind
I know many handicapped people. Think they'd really enjoy working this way. Not everyone has the opportunity to work from home. Could also become an option for older people who want to work a little so they don't become depressed.
I do as well and they are not all keen on this. There are fears as to how much of a choice they will have.
Load More Replies...Didn’t get around to seeing it yet, but this is really sick. You have barely any kind of life at all and then you’re pressured to live as a robot that serves people, wtf??
Load More Replies...Things like this are so awesome that they make me angry at people who deny science. Without science, we wouldn’t have incredible things like this.
One way to keep automation from taking away all jobs. Recently I was in an office that had a virtual receptionist, a great big interactive screen, instead of an actual human being. Fiddle! I want to deal with a PERSON, not a machine!
What a nightmare, as if it’s not bad enough to be bedbound and immobilised, then you’re asked to contribute to society without any other benefit than some money in the bank. Living your life through a robot who supposedly ‘connects’ with other people?? Seriously.
I love you, Japan. Thanks for being weird and cool while the whole world is too busy cancelling people that don't 'fit in'.
Umm yeah, definitely not. There massive pressure to fit in japanese society. Foreigners are treated nicely because they're seen as exotic zoo animals. I have a japanese female friend that tells me she's happy to be back from japan because she feels ostracized for being 5'4", 2 inches above norm. Imagine how much worse it is for girl growing up really above norm like 5'8"-6" tall
Load More Replies...I don't think this is so great at all : if you ppush the concept far enough, soon there will be no excuse at all for not working. Are we really in this world for the purpose of working and being paid money ? Is this what life is ? Even paralyzed in your hospital bed, you still have to "go to work" every morning ? It makes me shiver...
I can't wait until they can transfer human consciousness into machines.
Tell that to their homeless, or their senior citizens, or their unemployed, or pretty much any foreign resident that needs help in one way or another. Japan is a country of xenophobic racists that worry more about face and tradition then helping.
Load More Replies...
407
50