Humanoid Assistant Robots to Address Staff Shortage in Caregiving Facilities - Also, the Latest Technology for Remote User Monitoring - ITmedia NEWS
September 19, 2020 | Source: ITmedia NEWS
November 11th is "Caregiver's Day." In the face of an aging population, the caregiving industry is confronting a serious shortage of personnel. The younger workforce that is supposed to take on caregiving services is decreasing, and dissatisfaction with the workload and wage levels is accelerating turnover. In an effort to address these issues, new technologies that support the caregiving frontline are being developed and introduced.
Enactic, a start-up company developing a humanoid caregiver assistant robot called "Ena (Iena)," was conducting experiments on the robot arm that would be installed in Iena at its research facility in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo in October.
The arm, which moves smoothly like a human's hand, carefully folds clothes one by one from a laundry net. Remote operation is also possible, and according to engineer Mori Naoto (61), "the system transmits the force sensed by the arm directly to the operator."
Iena is responsible for peripheral tasks such as cleaning rooms, doing laundry, and nighttime monitoring. These tasks account for about 30% of the total workload in caregiving facilities, and the goal is to create an environment where staff can focus on "human care" tasks such as bathing, toileting, and moving assistance through automation.
In preparation for the planned launch in 2028, engineer Tsuchioka Yuki (27) is working on adjusting the AI of the robot's body to learn the specific shapes of doors and slopes found in care facilities, so that it can operate correctly.
Caregiver's Day is a day to reflect on the challenges facing the caregiving industry. The situation in caregiving facilities is tough. According to the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare's estimates, about 2.72 million caregivers will be needed by the 40th fiscal year when the elderly population ratio (the proportion of people aged 65 and over) reaches about 35%, which is an increase of about 570,000 compared to the 22nd fiscal year.
In the context of reducing the burden on caregivers and improving operational efficiency, a remote monitoring support system called "eLive" was developed by Teknos Japan, a manufacturer of bed sensors in Himeji City, Hyogo Prefecture.
By using sensors laid on the bed to detect the user's movements and transmit the data, staff can monitor the user's status such as "awake," "left the bed," or "absent" through their smartphones or computers. They can also view the user's condition via camera footage, and only visit when necessary. Facilities that have actually implemented the system report a reduction of about half in the number of visits and a 20% decrease in falls and accidents.
The caregiving industry is facing challenges in terms of compensation. According to the Basic Statistics Survey on Wage Structure published by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare in 2024, the monthly salary of caregivers was approximately 2.71 million yen, about 600,000 yen less than the average of all industries, which was about 3.4 million yen.
The workload with significant physical and mental burdens is difficult to say is adequately compensated. In the 2024 Care Worker Labor Conditions Survey, 16.3% of those who had previously worked in care-related jobs cited "low income" as a reason for leaving, which exceeded the 14.4% of those who had worked in other jobs.
Workplaces where work performance is not appropriately reflected in salary or promotion opportunities are said to be prone to dissatisfaction and conflicts. In the same survey, 24.7% of those who cited "problems with workplace relationships" as a reason for leaving were people who had previously worked in care-related jobs.
A staff member from the Osaka Labor Bureau said, "Care worker salaries are raised every year and are moving toward improvement. We want to create a better environment." (Suzuki Genya, Hiraoka Hirotsugu)
