Toyota has designed a 'robot butler' that hangs from the ceiling aimed at helping the elderly in their homes.
The Toyota Research Institute (TRI) believes the world’s ageing population is a cause for concern and think technology can help make the lives of the elderly much easier and dignified.
Its prototype 'hanging butler robot' is one machine designed to operate in the home.
Mounted to an overhead mechanism, the arm would be able to perform mundane tasks such as loading a dishwasher, wiping surfaces and cleaning clutter.
Toyota says the robot’s design was inspired by trips to Japanese homes where researchers found that limited floor space would constrain a robot’s ability to help.
Their solution was to imagine a future home built with robots directly integrated into the architecture.
At present the bots are just prototypes, and Toyota has no immediate plans to commercialise the tech.