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| AsiaViews, Edition: 43/VI/January2010 |
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| Robot safety standards planned |
 They aren't necessarily worried about robots running amok and taking over the world, but the Japanese government and private sector are jointly devising safety standards for service automatons.
They hope the rules will prevent accidents involving humans and eventually become the global standard, which would help cement Japan's position as a leader in robotics.
Currently, there are no safety standards and no single ministry is in charge of overseeing safety of the robots, according to experts.
Unlike industrial robots, service robots, which can do household chores or assist in care for the elderly, have been increasingly found in crowded places, such as shopping facilities and airports.
Industry and government officials have raised concerns about possible accidents from the increasing contact between people and the machines.
While the domestic robot market is worth an estimated 600 billion yen ($6.65 billion), consisting mainly of industrial robots, the figure is projected to leap to 6.2 trillion yen by 2025 due to an increase in service robots.
"Like with automobiles, there needs to be a set of safety rules that are recognized by the public in order for service robots to become widely accepted," said a senior official the Robot Business Promotion Council, a private sector group comprising roughly 80 manufacturers and robotics experts.
The council has set up working groups to study specific areas where robots are in use, such as the medical and welfare fields.
Under the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry's five-year project to create safety guidelines, the ministry is conducting crash tests, emergency brake tests and experiments to assess the effects that heat and humidity can have on a robot's performance.
Some of these tests in the project, which started in fiscal 2009, are being done at the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology in Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture.
There have been no reports of serious accidents involving robots in Japan. But there have been some close calls.
At the Aichi Expo in 2005, where advanced robots were a key attraction, authorities were notified that some people were accidentally hit by doors opened by robots.
The Japan Robot Association, the umbrella organization of the Robot Business Promotion Council, has listed several specific safety measures for consideration.
They include developing technologies to prevent robots from colliding with people and special mechanisms to regulate the force used when the machines come in contact with humans.
Currently, different ministries are in charge of regulations concerning robots depending on the area in which they serve and their functions.
For example, a robot that operates on public roads falls under the jurisdictions of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism and the National Police Agency.
The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, meanwhile, is responsible for care-giving robots, while machines that use radiowaves for remote control operations fall under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.
The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) plans to create an international standard for robots by 2011.
Japan, along with South Korea and Britain, is part of a panel involved in creating the standard. Japanese officials say they hope to take the lead in the discussions. |
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| The Asahi Shimbun, 27 January 2010 |
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