Paro

An elderly woman smiles as she gently touches the furry white seal robot. — Paro loves to be petted. Photo: Horizons WWP/TRVL/Alamy

Paro is a robotic baby harp seal designed as a therapeutic tool for use in hospitals and nursing homes. The robot is programmed to cry for attention and respond to its name. It includes an off switch.

Creator

AIST

Year

2004

Country

Japan 🇯🇵

Categories

Medical

Features

A spinning view of a furry white baby harp seal robot, which looks up at the camera and blinks and wiggles its tail. — See a 360° view of Paro. Photos: Carlton SooHoo

Did you know?

Paro's pacifier doubles as its charger.

An elderly woman presses her face towards a white robotic seal on the table at a nursing home. — Paro interacts with residents of a nursing home. Photo: Theodor Barth/laif/Redux

Nursing home residents meet Paro. Video: AIST

Audio

Visitors at the Museum of Modern Art, in New York, interact with Paro. The robot was there as part of the screening of a documentary film on robot companions.

Photo: David Guttenfelder/AP Photo

Takanori Shibata, the researcher who invented Paro, describes the sensors and actuators that make the robot behave like a living animal.

Photo: Roger Dohmen/Hollandse Hoogte/Redux

Takanori Shibata explains Paro's therapeutic benefits, which include reducing stress and stimulating social interactions.

Photo: Dominic Bracco II/The Washington Post/Getty Images

History

Japan's National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) started the Paro project in 1993. Led by researcher Takanori Shibata, the project unveiled a first-generation robot in 1998. In the years that followed, several new models were developed. In 2004, the eighth generation of the Paro series was developed, and in the following year the robot was commercialized in Japan. In 2009, Paro was introduced in Europe and the United States, where the Food and Drug Administration certified the robot as a "biofeedback medical device." Paro has been used in hospitals and care facilities as a therapeutic tool in about 30 countries.

Two white furry robotic seals look as if they are sleeping while pink pacifiers with cords are in their mouths. — Paros need a break to recharge. Photo: Kim Kyung Hoon/Reuters

Specs

Overview: Voice sampled from real baby harp seals. Covered with white antibacterial fur. Equipped with an internal heating system that keeps its body warm.
Status: Ongoing
Year: 2004
Website: parorobots.com
Width: 35 cm
Height: 16 cm
Length: 57 cm
Weight: 2.7 kg
Sensors: Light sensor, temperature sensor, tactile sensors (body and whiskers), microphone array.
Actuators: Seven motors
Degrees of Freedom (DoF): 7 (Neck: 2 DoF; Flipper: 1 DoF x 2; Tail: 1 DoF; Eyelid: 1 DoF x 2)
Materials: Plastic skeleton and body covered with soft white fur.
Compute: Two 32-bit RISC processors
Software: Custom software
Power: Nickel-metal hydride battery, 1.5 hour of operation
Cost: $6,000