Toyota is facing up to a growing problem in its home market of Japan. The population is growing increasingly old and the birth rate is dropping, meaning the market for cars will inevitably shrink. But where there's a problem, Toyota also sees an opportunity and looks to be diving head first into developing robots for the elderly.
Japan may be unique in its rapidly changing population, but it's actually just the first example of what is likely to happen increasingly around the world. We are all living longer and we'll all need assistance in some form eventually. Toyota's response to that is rehabilitation robots.
Typically, the older you are the longer it takes to heal from an injury. This has a double impact if the injury affects mobility. Overall health can deteriorate because the person simply can't go about their daily lives as normal. It also puts more pressure on social care systems.
Toyota wants to solve that problem with a robot rental system. The first of these was demonstrated yesterday when the company launched a walk assist system rental service. The robot is called the Welwalk WW-1000, and it's designed to help in the rehabilitation of anyone suffering with lower limb paralysis. While that could happen at any age, leg weakness is common following a stroke.
The Welwalk consists of two core parts: the main body and the robotic leg. Together they are meant for installation in rehabilitation centers such as hospitals. The main body consists of a treadmill and monitor, while the robotic leg helps the wearer with knee bending and leg stretching.
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As for costs, there's an initial fee per Welwalk of 1,000,000 yen (US$9,200) followed by a monthly rental fee of 350,000 yen (US$3,200). So it's certainly not cheap, but in this configuration it's meant for a facility that treats hundreds of patients every year.
In the future, I wouldn't be surprised to see the robotic leg design refined, reduced in size, and offered on its own as an accessory you regularly see the elderly wearing all of the time. And I'm sure Toyota is thinking about that, too. If it can become a leader in mobility robots, there's certainly a bright and profitable future ahead for the company.