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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
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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.
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What do you think ?
Buzz Anderson 7 years ago
Outstanding. Whoever came up with the idea. May he be blessed for all his or her years.
BusLady 7 years ago (edited)
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.
Vonskippy 7 years ago
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.
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M O'Connell 7 years ago
The Japanese, what will they think of next! This is a marvelous concept, 1000 upvotes!
Heather Rennie 7 years ago
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.
Buzz Anderson 7 years ago
Outstanding. Whoever came up with the idea. May he be blessed for all his or her years.
BusLady 7 years ago (edited)
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.
Vonskippy 7 years ago
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... M O'Connell 7 years ago
The Japanese, what will they think of next! This is a marvelous concept, 1000 upvotes!
Heather Rennie 7 years ago
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.
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