Faced with an unprecedented demographic crisis, Japan is betting heavily on robotics to revolutionize care for the elderly. AIREC, a humanoid robot designed to assist caregivers, recently proved its worth in Tokyo by demonstrating its ability to safely manipulate a lying patient.
This type of innovation could play a vital role in a country where the population is ageing rapidly, outnumbering the young and active, who are therefore fewer and fewer in number to care for them on a daily basis.
AIREC: a response to the shortage of nursing staff
Japan is facing an increasingly ageing population, coupled with a declining birth rate. In 2024, the country recorded just 720,988 births, down 5% on the previous year. At the same time, Japan’s baby-boom generation (1947-1949) passed the age of 75, increasing the demand for care. In December 2024, there was only one candidate for every 4.25 positions available in the care sector, making the situation more than critical.
It is in this context that the AIREC robot has been designed to assist caregivers with complex tasks such as changing patients’ position, preventing bedsores, helping with dressing, and even preparing simple meals. Its development is supervised by Professor Shigeki Sugano of Waseda University, with public funding.
Technological advances in the service of health
Robotics and artificial intelligence have made significant progress in recent years, but designing a robot capable of interacting physically and safely with humans remains a major challenge. Unlike industrial robots, healthcare robots have to adapt to varied and unpredictable situations, requiring advanced intelligence and precision.
AIREC is based on a deep neural network (DNN) that predicts joint movements and adjusts the force applied in real time. Care facilities such as those run by the Zenkoukai company are already testing various technological solutions, including sleep sensors under mattresses to reduce nightly rounds, or interactive robots to help residents exercise.
AIREC: a complementary solution for caregivers
Although robots like AIREC are a valuable aid, their cost remains considerably high. Its initial price is estimated at 10 million yen (around 64,000 euros). According to Sugano, its actual integration into care facilities will not take place before 2030. What’s more, these robots are not yet capable of substituting for humans.
If we have AI-equipped robots that can grasp each care receiver’s living conditions and personal traits, there may be a future for them to directly provide nursing care (…) But I don’t think robots can understand everything about nursing care. Robots and humans working together to improve nursing care is a future I am hoping for.
Takaki Ito, Zenkoukai caregiver
Towards a future where robots and humans collaborate for aging well
The deployment of humanoid robots in the care sector is not intended to replace human staff, but rather to ease the workload and improve the quality of care delivered. The stakes are high for Japan, the first country so affected by this demographic crisis, but potentially a model for other nations facing similar challenges (like South Korea, for example) in the decades to come.
Published by the Editorial Staff on