B Lab starts “Friend Robot Project”! A symposium was held on October 12th (Saturday) as the first round of a ctivities.

B Lab starts “Friend Robot Project”! A symposium was held on October 12th (Saturday) as the first round of activities. ​
B Lab Press release: September 27, 2024 B Lab starts “Friend Robot Project”! A symposium was held on October 12th (Saturday) as the first round of activities.
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B Lab (iU’s research institute, Director: Nanako Ishido; hereinafter referred to as B Lab) provides a new perspective on the relationship between robots and humans, not only from technological innovations but also from social and cultural aspects. We are launching the “Friend Robot” project, which explores a future where technology and humans merge. Advances in AI and robotics have enabled robots to go beyond mere tools and take on the role of human friends. Japan occupies a unique position globally in the presence of robots as friends. This project aims to explore the possibility of robots integrating into human life as friends, and to spread this idea both domestically and internationally. As the first round of activities, we will hold a symposium called “Friend Robot Kickoff Event” on October 12th (Saturday). ■Symposium overview Symposium “Friend Robot Kickoff Event” On the day, there will be THE★ROBOTS dance by aibo, Romi, Pepper, Robohon, BOCCO emo, and PALRO. We will hold a talk event to discuss the relationship between robots and humans in Japan. With the rapid evolution of AI and robotics, robots are expected to go beyond mere work support tools and become closely involved in human life. This project proposes the perspective of having robots coexist with humans as “friends,” increasing social value and exploring new application fields for products and technologies. Please look forward to this event, where Japan’s leading companies that support this purpose will gather to engage in discussions that transcend organizational boundaries! Apply here ​ ■ Date and time: October 12, 2024 11:30-12:30 ■ Location: Tokyo Port City Takeshiba Port Plaza (1-7-1 Kaigan, Minato-ku, Tokyo) ■ Notes: Implemented within “An Interesting Future Ahead (Chomoro) 2024” ■ Participation fee: Free ■ Speakers (titles omitted) ・Shunsuke Aoki (CEO of Yukai Engineering Co., Ltd.) ・Tomomi Ota (Assistant Professor, Osaka College of Music): Robot Friendly Project ・Michio Okada (ICD-LAB/Professor, Toyohashi University of Technology): Weak robot ・Miho Kagei (General Manager, Robot Solutions Business Department, Telecommunications Business Division, Sharp Corporation) ・Hideyuki Takahashi (Specially Appointed Associate Professor, Graduate School of Engineering Science, Osaka University): A robot that does nothing ・Rie Naoi (SoftBank Corp. Technology Unit Chief Scientist Office ROS-SI Promotion Division) ・Teru Nagaoka (MIXI Vantage Studio Co., Ltd. Romi Division
BizDev/Design Group Manager) ■ Facilitator: Nanako Ishido (Director of B Lab) THE★ROBOTS It is a unit formed by robots from companies that aim for coexistence between humans and robots, and they usually perform dance performances on a regular basis at Pepper PARLOR, a cafe/dining facility operated by SoftBank Robotics in Shibuya. This time, with the cooperation of various companies, we will have dance performances performed at this event as well. It consists of the following robots. ・Entertainment robot “aibo”: Sony Group Corporation ・Humanoid robot “PALRO”: Fujisoft Co., Ltd. ・Humanoid robot “Pepper”: SoftBank Robotics Corporation ・Family robot “BOCCO emo”: Yukai Engineering Co., Ltd. ・Mobile robot “RoBoHoN”: Sharp Corporation ・Conversation AI robot “Romi”: MIXI Co., Ltd. *”aibo” is a registered trademark of Sony Group Corporation. *“PALRO” is a registered trademark of Fujisoft Co., Ltd. *“Pepper” is a registered trademark of SoftBank Robotics Corporation. *“BOCCO emo” is a registered trademark of Yukai Engineering Co., Ltd. * “RoBoHoN” is a registered trademark of Sharp Corporation. *“Romi” is a registered trademark of MIXI Co., Ltd.
■Friend Robot Project Activities The “Tomodachi Robot” project provides a new perspective on the relationship between robots and humans, and explores a future where technology and humans merge from not only technological innovations but also social and cultural aspects. [Activities] 1. Building and disseminating a new relationship between robots and humans We organize and analyze the history of coexistence between robots and humans in Japan, and spread Japan’s robot culture to the world. It also provides an opportunity for countries with different cultural backgrounds to reconsider the relationship between robots and humans. 2. Realizing well-being through robots Create a bridge between robots and human emotional needs and contribute to human mental health. Specifically, we will work on the use and popularization of robots as a solution to dealing with loneliness and alienation in modern society. Through this, we hope to explore new forms of human relationships and bring a new dimension of richness to people’s lives. ・Robohon ・Romi ・Sweet Ham Ham ・ BOCCO emo ・ Pepper ・Sharp Corporation (Miho Kagei, Toshiyuki Kamei, Yuko Iwakoshi) ・MIXI Co., Ltd. (Teru Nagaoka, Mina Miyoshi, Ayu Yuki) ・Yukai Engineering Co., Ltd. (Shunsuke Aoki, Tsubasa Tominaga, Mai Yamoto) ・SoftBank Robotics Corporation (Tomoyuki Moriyama) ・SoftBank Corp. (Rie Naoi) ・ Masashi Takahashi (Bye Bye World Representative Director): Applause robot ・Tomomi Ota (Assistant Professor, Osaka College of Music): Robot Friendly Project ・Michio Okada (ICD-LAB/Professor, Toyohashi University of Technology): Weak robot ・Hideyuki Takahashi (Specially Appointed Associate Professor, Graduate School of Engineering Science, Osaka University): A robot that does nothing ・Nanako Ishido (B Lab): Friend Robot
■Overview of B Lab “B Lab,” an acronym for Beyond, Borderless, Breakthrough, is a research institute that connects universities, research institutes, regions, and human resources around the world, fuses the special skills and knowledge of many people, and creates new ideas. It is a participatory platform that creates technology, services, content, business, and society. The scope is wide, including technology development, solving social issues, and creating new services, but the common denominator is social implementation, which is created by everyone. Fathers, mothers, grandmothers, and children are all researchers. Become a Lifelong Seeker and have a second Researcher business card. We will build a new society that is social, open, and participatory, connecting all people, including users, and matching issues, ideas, technology, money, skills, and people, and working together to create an interesting future from small to large creations. We aim to create.
https://www.blaboratory.org/