A Cafe in Tokyo Features Robotic Servers Remotely Controlled by Paralyzed Humans at Home or in Hospital

In April 2016, the Japanese robotics company Ory Laboratories opened up a test cafe using their robots as servers. While the idea of robotic waitstaff is pretty amazing in itself, even more remarkable was that these robots were being remotely controlled by people who are shut-in at home or in hospital with severely paralyzing disabilities, illnesses and/or injuries using their anthropomorphic robot, OriHime.

(translated)A place to work for severely disabled people with robots. On April 26, Ory Holdings (HD), a venture company in Tokyo and Nippon Foundation, opened a cafe with by remote control robot servers controlled handicapped people with disabilities at home. In a demonstration experiment carried out until December 7 at the Nippon Foundation Building in Minato-ku, Tokyo, and would like to open a permanent store in 2020.

One of the conditions upon which the company specifically focuses is ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), offering the user a variety of different ways to operate the robot according to their ability.

Even if you are paralyzed and can only move your eyes, you can control OriHime using your eyes’ movements and go out with your family, use body language like signalling yes and no, and you can even clap your hands.