Japan’s Cutting-Edge AI Technologies Contribute to an Aging Society

This video is titled "A New Aging Society Led by Japanese Technology" (日本のテクノロジーが導く新しい高齢化社会). It introduces Japan's response to an aging society using cutting-edge technology. It was released by the“Foreign Ministry / MOFA”.
Currently, Japan is said to be one of the most aging societies in the world.

However, an aging society is not an issue unique to Japan, but a problem growing worldwide.
Living a long, healthy life and increasing opportunities to participate in society is a very important theme when faced with an aging society.
In this article, we'll introduce some cutting-edge technologies in Japan that the public and private sectors are developing together.

NEC the WISE: An AI Technology Adapting to an Aging Society

Source :YouTube screenshot

The AI technology shown in the video at 0:32 is called “NEC the WISE.”
In the video, NEC Director Fellow Katsumi Emura says “the problem is not the aging society itself, but how to adapt to an aging society, so that people can live long, healthy, fulfilling lives.”
In light of the global trend toward an aging society, NEC is focused on developing and providing solutions that can be used to predict and prevent various diseases.
That's what the AI technology, “NEC the WISE,” is all about.

If we can prevent people from getting sick as they get older, it means that people will still be able to participate in society in good health as they age.
In today's society where we are told that we have 100 years to live, "retirement in our 60s" is too early.
If it becomes the norm for people to remain healthy and active past 60, we will no longer be able to call it an "aging society."

HAL Lumbar Support: An AI Technology That Addresses the Declining Birthrate and Aging Population

Source :YouTube screenshot

With Japan's declining birthrate and aging population, the age of caregivers, whose job it is to care for the sick and elderly, is increasing every year.
The "HAL Lumber Support" project, which can be seen at 1:02 in the video, is a project to introduce nursing care robots to reduce the physical burden on caregivers in the nursing care industry.
The video introduces AI technology that places an assistive robot suit on a caregiver's waist and receives biopotential signals emitted by the brain and transmits them to the power-assist suit to reduce the strain on the back and lower body.
This is an AI technology that can be applied patient side as well.
In addition, because HAL is an artificial intelligence (AI) equipped support robot, repeated use of the robot helps it learn how neurotransmission works and can assist in walking more efficiently.

It's not just a robot that moves according to commands, it's an autonomous machine that learns on its own, meaning that the cyborg robots you see in science fiction movies are already a reality.
These mechanized technologies are collectively referred to as Hybrid Assistive Limb” (HAL).

Summary of Japan's Cutting-Edge AI Technology and Measures for an Aging Society

As seen at the end of the video from 1:30, Japan’s cutting-edge technology “HAL” is already being applied to medical technology in Malaysia.
It is believed that increased social participation opportunities for the elderly with the help of autonomous robots will increase the well-being of society.
It'll be interesting to see what Japan, the superpower of robots, has to offer in the future.

【Official Website】Cutting-Edge AI Technologies – NEC the WISE - : Solution/ Service | NEC
https://www.nec.com/