(*this article was published in Nytid News Magazine, Oslo -- Thanks to my humble editor Dag for editing and translation in Norwegian)

Have you found a robot for baby sitting yet? I often receive funny messages like this from my friends in other countries. Since I moved to Tokyo one of my “extra duties” is to confirm my friends` perception about Japan as the world’s most-advanced country in technology.
Well, Japan is a great opportunity to learn about the latest. Coming from abroad I am amazed to see the many Japanese high-tech gadgets.
Take the robot as the example. Touching a real robot is something really new which you in Norway should experience. Last year, in the world`s greatest exposition held in Aichi Prefecture, I met three cute robots who introduced themselves as the best baby sitters and house keepers in the country. By installing specific information such as when should the robots clean up the house, feeding the baby, or lock the house, one can feel secure to leave his or her home and leaving the domestic duties to the robots. The staff who explaining the robots’ duties said that in the future, these are the real helpers for society. Especially in the country with ageing society like Japan, where human resources are limited. Do Japanese people really need robot to help them? Yes. This is the answer from experts. They will convince us by presenting the fact that in the next 50 years, Japanese population will be decreasing by 100 millions people, and one out of three people will be 65 years old and over.
Well, for me the answer is still debatable. Robots for display, yes. Robots for pratical purposes, not yet. This is what I have in my mind. Even after learning about Ri-man, a prototype developed by The Research Center for Bio Metric Control di Nagoya. Under international collaborative projects, the center has developed a robot called Ri-man, a robot aims to help elderly people. Ri-man`s special duties are to help an elderly to get up from the bed, lift him or her, helping to sit down properly and providing assistance to go to the toilet.

With his (yes he is a man!) robotic voice he will greet you, “Hello, my name is Ri-man...” And in the display room, Ri-man shows his ability to lift a 18 kgs dummy up from the bed.

For many, getting familiar with robots is still a frightening idea. Well, if it really happens in the future, how will I leave my children with a robot baby sitter? Or fully trust my old mother to be cared by a machine?

Last week, Japanese scientists revealed the most human looking robot yet, called Repliee Q1Expo. A female robot created by Professor Hiroshi Ishiguro of Osaka University. When I watched the special tv programs featuring the female android, I saw her just like a mannequin in a shopping centre. But according to Professor Ishiguro, people who interact with Repliee Q1Expo will temporarily forget that she is a robot, instead treat her just like a woman. She is able to show certain reactions, such as moving her head, flutter her eyes, and reacting in a human manner.

Robotic technology has been developing significantly in Japan, and the fantasy of the coexistence between human and robots grows rapidly in the media, animation, science fiction movies and novels. People stands 3 hours queue just to watch future robots in popular outlets such as Toyota, Sony and Toshiba.

One of my elderly friend says: “Opening our door for skilled-foreign care workers will be the best choice for a talk-active lady like myself. I want to spend my elderly period with a human, to talk about memories I have, to complaint, not to let my old body to be lifted up by a machine....”

So what should humans do? The famous science fiction writer Hideaki Sena argues that the search for the perfect non-technical robot can actually increase our awareness of our humanity. And above all, despite all the new inventions in Japan: we humans are still number one! (*)