<![CDATA[Why are lonely Asians turning to robots for friendship?]>

It has been nearly 20 years since the Roomba, one of the world's first robotic vacuum cleaners, was launched by American tech company iRobot. The disclike machine " equipped with wheels, rotating brushes, and sensors to detect dirt and keep it from tumbling down stairs " became an instant hit in homes across the world. "It will change the way you clean. Forever," an advert claimed ambitiously at the time.

Unsurprisingly, tech-savvy consumers in Japan were among the earliest adopters of the Roomba after its launch in 2002, with the country quickly becoming one of the fastest-growing international markets for the gadgets, which cost between US$200 and US$900 to buy.

A Roomba going about its business. Photo: Handout / iRobot

Less expected was the emotional attachment that some Japanese users began to exhibit for their cleaning machines " from giving the devices endearing nicknames, to sharing photos of what they called their "cute pets" online and even forming Roomba-appreciation chat groups to celebrate the newest "addition" to their families.

A handful of robot makers and entrepreneurs such as Shunsuke Aoki, founder of Tokyo-based robotics company Yukai Engineering, took notice of this phenomenon.

"Loneliness is a big problem in Japan, even among younger generations," said Aoki, whose company sees "a lot of potential for social robots".

"People get lonely, and although you can use smartphones to interact with other people " it's mainly visual ... In conversation, only 40 per cent of the information is conveyed through language, the other 60 per cent is non-verbal."

In Japan, single-person households are on the rise. Photo: Reuters

By 2040, two out of every five Japanese households will consist of a person living alone, according to a forecast by the National Institute of Population and Social Security Research last year.

But loneliness is hardly unique to the country. As remote communications technology and social media increasingly replace face-to-face interactions, and people around the world congregate in cities that often lack the sense of community to be found in less urbanised environments, loneliness is fast reaching epidemic proportions.

From China to South Korea, demand for social robots is expected to soar as the number of single-person households increases and populations age.

A fine, flippered friend " Paro, the robotic seal. Photo: SCMP/Felix Wong

Even a decade ago, Aoki had sensed this growing need for companionship " and spotted a gap in the market that he could fill. His line of companion robots includes Qoobo, a furry, robotic "pet" pillow that wags its long catlike tail when stroked and retails for 12,960 yen (US$116), and Bocco, a "family robot" not much larger than a coffee mug that costs about US$240, is designed to monitor the home and can help people communicate with their loved ones remotely.

"Bocco is a modern-day zashiki-warashi, or guardian spirit for your family," the company's website says. "It lives in your house, watches over your family and keeps you and your family connected."

Ray Yu, a Hong Kong-based Bocco user, first spied the diminutive robot while browsing Kickstarter in 2015. "It was so small. I thought it was really cute," he said, adding that he bought a unit for his son and elderly father to use.

Across Asia, the robotics industry is booming. In 2016, South Korean companies sold some 41,000 robots, eclipsed only by their Chinese counterparts who sold more than 65,000, according to the International Federation of Robotics.

In a 2017 interview, a sales manager for Beijing-based Canny Unisrobo Technology, which produces the US$480 Canbot home companion robot in partnership with Microsoft, estimated sales of about 150,000 units per year.

In Japan, as well as Qoobo and Bocco, there is Sony's robotic dog Aibo; Paro the robotic seal; GrooveX's Lovot companion robot; and Softbank Robotics' humanoid service robots Nao and Pepper, to name just a few. Prices range from US$500 for a Paro to several thousand for the education-focused Nao.

For years, the country has been ahead of the curve not only in terms of innovation, but also in its appreciation of machines.

Mechanised puppets known as karakuri, a predecessor to modern robots, date back to the 17th century while Gakutensoku, an expressive automaton that could write Chinese characters and is often described as the country's first robot, was created almost a century ago in 1929.

Pop culture has also played a part with cartoon favourites such as Astro Boy, an android with human emotions that first appeared in 1952, and Doraemon the robotic cat " one of the bestselling manga characters in the world.

Aoki, of Yukai Engineering, said the traditional Japanese idea of tsukumogami, or spirits that inhabit objects, could help explain the country's love for robots.

"It's easy for us to accept that objects have intelligence and their own character," he said. "This is why a lot of Roomba vacuum users treat their robots like pets, they feel empathy towards these robots."

Doraemon the robotic cat " paving the way for social robots in Japan? Photo: AFP

David Navarro-Alarcon, a robotics researcher and assistant professor at Hong Kong Polytechnic University's department of mechanical engineering, likewise pointed to the country's "historical context".

"In Japan, you can see robots outside restaurants, simple machines saying hello," he said. "It's an advanced situation."

The country continues to be an industry leader, producing 52 per cent of the world's robots in 2016, according to an International Federation of Robots report.

"Japan has a culture of robots, they are part of the collective psyche," said Navarro-Alarcon. "They see it as normal to have these mechanical creatures."

Demand for social robots in other Asian markets, such as China, is expected to boom in coming years.

"If you look at Japan's elderly in their 60s and 70s they're really wealthy. They went through the economic boom and have more buying power for social robots," said Andy Liu, of Beijing-based tech consultancy Future Form. "This will happen with Chinese consumers in the next five to 10 years. You'll see more people buying sophisticated digital tools like robots."

A worker inspects an AvatarMind iPal social robot at an assembly plant in Suzhou, Jiangsu province. Photo: Reuters

There is sales growth at the other end of the age spectrum as well, according to Kang Feng, founder of Beijing-based artificial intelligence start-up Unisound.

"In 2017, we sold about 1 million AI modules for children's educational robots, by 2018, we were selling 3 million modules," he said.

"We think next year and the year after the market will continue to grow up to three times bigger, but the types of robots will change."

But if social robots do emerge victorious in the battle for market share, attempting to cure loneliness with technology may cause its own set of problems.

"Imagine if instead of visiting and seeing grandma, I buy her a robot and put it at home," said Gael Bonnin, a professor of marketing at Neoma Business School in Paris, who studies the use of social robots. "If you have a robot as a substitute for a human being, it may not solve the problem" and may only serve to reinforce a person's loneliness, he said.

A nursing home resident interacts with an Aibo robotic dog in Tokyo. Photo: Reuters

Aoki, of Yukai Engineering, meanwhile warned of the dangers of trying to make robots too human.

"I believe it's important that social robots should be designed to look and act differently from humans because the more human-like they are, the more we have to treat them like humans which gives you a lot of stress," he said.

"Having a human-like robot at home is like having your mum every day in your apartment. It's uncomfortable ... Social robots should be different from humans, especially in the family home environment."

And then there is the unfortunate fact that, just like humans, robots have finite lifespans, too, so owners are not spared the sadness of saying goodbye to old companions.

This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (SCMP).

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