Wednesday, August 13, 2014

The “Next Big Thing” May Not Be a Smartphone

Greetings from Mobile Generated News® MoGN!



So you think the iPhone 6 or the just announced, Samsung Alpha, will be the next technological hit with consumers?

You may have to adjust your thinking.

The “Pet” being held in the photo above looks like a baby harp Seal. It’s not. It is a mechanical device to help amuse elderly nursing home patients. No kidding.

This Seal is being developed in Japan as “Paro Therapeutic Robot.”

At first look it appears to be a small white animal you could easily mistake as a stuffed toy. The creature bats its eyes, and makes a mewing sound when someone pets it.

But Paro is not for kids.  It's a mechanical device designed to provide comfort and companionship to older people.  Even though the inventor’s heart is in the right place, it seems to me that giving a fake pet to the elderly is a cruel joke. Having an aging Father, maybe I am too close to the situation, however, my Dad enjoys the company of a living, breathing dog that lives where he lives at a home care facility.

To be fair, the company experimenting with Paro has evidence that suggests that the Robot works. Maja Mataric, co-director of the USC Robotics Research Lab says that, "Robots aren't a panacea, but if they help people, if they can make their lives better, then what's wrong with that?"

So there are both sides of the story. I prefer pets that are alive.

What do you think?

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