PaPeRo Robot Provides Information to Elders

The NEC Corporation that had started the development of the PaPeRo since 1997 (Partner-type-Personal-Robot) has launched a new version of PaPeRo for helping the elderly stay active by gathering information about the local activities.

The objective of the PaPeRo is to engage the elderly population who are living alone. This small robotic helper is capable of playing games or even performing an amusing dance. Numerous versions of the PaPeRo have been released over the years.

PaPeRo weighs about 14.3 pounds and has a height of 385mm (15.2 inches). The robot is equipped with nine capacitance sensors to perceive human touch and three microphones to detect the direction of sounds. One additional sensor, present in the head, gives the robot a sense of direction. The robot is also capable of navigating using CCD cameras and reproducing sound with stereo speakers. Two motors are installed to propel the wheels in the front and back. PaPeRo is also capable of imitating human head movement.

PaPeRo uses an infrared sensor, which in turn stimulates a series of superior ultrasonic sensors to calculate its distance from objects. The high-performance sensors enable the robot to perform precise tasks that ensure smooth movement. PaPeRo uses a microphone to hear in noisy surroundings and it is equipped with LEDs on the chest that indicate the task undertaken by the robot and its emotional state. The LEDs on the mouth and cheeks denote its facial expressions.