"Wear" a robot? State-of-the-art autumn leaves hunting at 15:54 on December 19

“Kyoto autumn leaves hiking with cutting-edge“ wearing robot ””
Kyoto is crowded with many tourists. During the fall foliage season, an unusual tour project caught my eye. I accompanied a tour that was a little unusual, using a “worn-type robot” that has been downsized and the price has gradually decreased. What is the experience that anticipates the future? (Kyoto Broadcasting Station reporter Matsubara Atsushi)

Japan's first wearable robot sightseeing tour

The tour was organized jointly by a major travel agency in Tokyo and a robot manufacturer in Nara City. According to the explanation, it is said that you will wear hiking support powered wear that supports daily walking and enjoy hiking. This is the first attempt at a public tour using robots.

The destination is a mountain area called “Kaohsiung”, about 30 minutes by car from central Kyoto. In particular, many tourists visit in autumn, and the “Mio Tour”, which tours historical temples, including the world heritage Kozan-ji Temple, offers colorful autumn leaves.

The total length is about 6km, 3 hours. With the help of a robot, you can reduce the burden as much as possible while walking on a hilly trail with intense undulations.

On this day, 8 people from their 40s to 70s gathered. Everyone is interested in the latest technology. The tour fee is 9980 yen including tax and robot fee (!).

How does the robot move?

The party that arrived on the bus wore a pouch-type device attached to the waist and a supporter wrapped around the knee with a wire. This looks so compact that you can't imagine a robot.

The waist device has a built-in motor and computer. It is a mechanism that uses a sensor to detect the movement of the foot, predicts the rhythm of walking, and uses a motor to wind up the wire connected to the knee supporter.

Participants who started walking with robots. Listen to the feeling ...

Participant “I feel a little uncomfortable at first, but I feel a little easier when I get used to it.”
"I feel like I'm pulling my legs when going up stairs and hills."

It seemed to realize the effect immediately.

The travel agency that organized the tour says that 70% of its customers are seniors over the age of 50. As the country promotes “universal tourism” where everyone can enjoy traveling with peace of mind, the demand for travel using these latest technologies is expected to increase.

Sadayuki Hatano, Marketing Department, Marketing Department, KNT-CT Holdings “Those who had given up on their trips because they were not confident in walking and would like to participate without giving up. I hope that it will lead to "customer retention" that will continue to travel "

Newly developed walking support robot

I felt a new possibility of "walking support" robot, I also visited the manufacturer in Nara City that developed the robot. Numerous robots, such as developed products and prototypes, are lined up at the company entrance.

This manufacturer was established in 2003. Originally, we have worked on work support type robots that lighten the burden on the waist when lifting heavy objects such as logistics bases and factories.

Work support robots are now widely used in the workplace, and it is said that the market for these wearable robots will grow fourfold in five years.

Unlike the work support robots, this “walking support type” robot is expected to have a support effect of up to about 20% on stairs and slopes and about 30% on sandy terrain.

The manufacturer is aiming to improve the quality of life. Assuming that elderly people will use it for daily life and light training, they are focusing on how compact and lightweight it is, and it seems that the weight has been reduced to 2.5 kg.

ATOUN Technology Development Department Fumiya Hanzawa “Robots that assist walking have not been developed so far, but they were developed based on the need. Aging is a problem in the world such as walking and health promotion. It will be worth it. ''

If you can travel without worrying about knee pain ...

This robot aimed at the needs of the elderly. I talked to Shigemi Tabata (62) who participated in the tour with her husband.

Tabata likes to travel and goes hiking with her husband and friends every month. Recently, however, I began to suffer from knee pain and was diagnosed with “Knee Osteoarthritis” in a hospital. Especially on the stairs, the load on the feet is heavy, and on days when there is a lot of pain, you can't go up and down unless you have your feet one step at a time. For Mr. Tabata, hiking and walking around the city are worth living, but recently he seems to refrain from inviting friends to climb mountains.

Mr. Shibata Tabata “Because my pain gradually increases as I walk, I went to a friend who came home with my legs getting stuck. I did n’t mind the pain. I think it would be more fun if I could travel. ''

Mr. Tabata, who started walking with a robot on the tour, immediately felt the effect on a flat road.

At the end of the hike, Mr. Tabata was waiting for a long staircase of 400 steps. With the stock in both hands and starting to climb the stairs, the gait was smooth with the assistance of the robot. I was able to climb without delaying the surroundings.

Mr. Tabata who finished the three-hour hike. While saying that there is still pain, I looked back at the comfort of the wearable robot as follows.

Mr. Shigemi Tabata “I thought it would be bad if I retired, but my legs lifted up and it was easy to go up the stairs. My husband also said,“ I walked faster than usual today. I want it to be put into practical use and sold at a low price. ''

Supporting not only legs and hips but also “I want to live”

Currently, I was wondering how effective this robot is at the development stage, but when I actually experienced it, I felt that the movement of the foot became light because the motor pulled up the leg with a good rhythm. It was.

It does not have a dramatic effect such as people who can not walk originally can walk, but there are still people like Tabata who can enjoy traveling with a little support.

In the future, manufacturers will continue to improve robots for commercialization by letting the general public experience robots.

Wearable robots that have begun to be used in daily life. I felt that it might be indispensable for making life worthwhile in the future.

Satoshi Matsubara, a reporter at Kyoto Broadcasting Bureau, joined Toyama Station and Osaka Station in 2011, and is currently in charge of economy and culture