To better take care of its elderly, Panasonic introduced today two new products with the:

Hair-washing robot
The hair-washing robot was developed to fill the needs of workers at hospitals and health care facilities. Studies among them revealed their dilemma that they cannot attend to each and every request of the patients, such as shampooing, as it will add another task to the workers who are already burdened with many tasks.

The hair-washing robot uses Panasonic’s robot hand technology. With 16 fingers, the robot washes hair and rinses the shampoo bubbles with the dexterity of human fingers. The robot’s two arms scan the head three dimensionally as they move and measure and remember the head shape to apply just the right amount of pressure to each person when shampooing and massaging. Each arm has three motors that independently control swing, press and massage motions in conjunction with power detection sensors. The robot even remembers each person’s head shape and preferred massage course.

Roboticbed
The Roboticbed received a great response from care recipients and givers alike, and Panasonic has been developing safety technologies and guidelines to put robots into practical use in an everyday living environment under a project coordinated by the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO), an independent administrative institute in Japan. At the same time, the company has also worked to make the Roboticbed more practical to allow the user to dock the wheelchair into the bed more easily.

Using its expertise in robotics technology, Panasonic simplified the structure of the new electric care assistance bed by reducing the number of motors and modifying the components. As a result, the user can separate and reunite the bed and the wheelchair more smoothly, which further reduces the risk and burden associated with the transfer between the bed and the wheelchair for the user and the caregiver. Adoption of pneumatic support and supplemental wheels also helps the care worker. Voice guidance and LED lights tell the user when the bed is ready to release the wheelchair.