LOVOT is a family robot created for the sole purpose of receiving love. Then, there is Qoobo, the therapy robot that wags its tail to comfort the user.
On April 24, the developers of these beloved Japanese robots will discuss the roles family robots play in today’s society in a live Twitter event to be hosted by note, the content publishing platform! The live stream will begin at 7 p.m. Japan time.
Event Background
Consumer interest in home robots is rapidly growing amid the new lifestyle forced upon us due to the coronavirus pandemic. It’s already been a month since we began staying home, and many people are feeling stressed and anxious, with some suffering from loneliness and other problems caused by the sudden changes to our lives. People — who have regarded home robots as luxury items — are now beginning to look at them as a potential solution to these problems. This change in people’s perspectives could signal the beginning of new era, in which each household lives with at least one unit of family or pet robot.
In the live Twitter event, LOVOT developer and GROOVE X CEO Kaname Hayashi, note’s CXO Takayuki Fukatsu, and Yukai Engineering CEO Shunsuke Aoki will discuss the past and future of humans and robots, including such topics as “how technologies should be designed,” “differences between pets and robots,” and “the possibilities of robotics.”
The event would be particularly of interest to you if you are:
- Interested in pet robots
- Interested in learning about cutting-edge technologies
- Interested in exploring human-robot relationships
We encourage you to post your thoughts on social media by using #emotech!
What’s Emotech?
Emotech is short for “emotional technology.” The term refers to technologies that are designed not only to function well – which has been the focus of industrial technologies – but also to draw emotional reactions from users.
Live Twitter Event
Friday, April 24, from 7-8 p.m.
(It may go beyond 8 p.m.)
How to attend
Please follow note’s official Twitter account at @note_PR in advance of the event and watch the event live when it starts.
Admission: Free
Hosted by note
Speakers
Kaname Hayashi, CEO, GROOVE X
Before founding GROOVE X, the robotic startup, Hayashi worked at Toyota and Softbank. He was involved in the development of Toyota’s first supercar, Lexus LFA, and Toyota FI, and development management of mass production cars, as well as in Softbank’s Pepper robot project. In December 2018, GROOVE X unveiled LOVOT the family robot that is designed to nurture love. Born in Aichi in 1973, Hayashi is also the author of “Zeroichi.”
Shunsuke Aoki, CEO, Yukai Engineering
Aoki founded Team Lab and served as its CTO while studying at the University of Tokyo. Before founding Yukai Engineering the robotics startup, Aoki also served as Pixiv’s CTO. Yukai Engineering develops and sells a wide range of family robots with the slogan to make the world a more fun place to live through the power of robotics. Yukai unveiled its flagship communication robot, BOCCO, in 2014. Yukai’s cushion-shaped tail-wagging therapy robot, Qoobo, was unveiled in 2017 and won a Good Design Juror’s Award.
Takayuki Fukatsu, CXO, note
Fukatsu is an interaction designer. He worked for THA and gained his experience in the Flash community before going solo in 2009 and beginning focusing on the UI designing of smart phone applications. He founded Arts & Mobile, the publisher of iPhone apps for artists and designers, and established THE GUILD. He serves as CXO of Piece of Cake, which operates note. Fukatsu is the author of many books and frequently speaks at events.
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twitter @fladdict