IBARAKI, Dec. 22 — Patients hospitalized at Shimuraomiya Hospital in Hitachiomiya, Ibaraki Prefecture, experienced on Dec. 21 picking strawberries virtually in a hothouse located 10 kilometers away.
The patients wore on their arm a sensor that transmits their movements to a robot in a remote location using a technology called BodySharing.
They cheered and clapped as they saw in a monitor a robot picking strawberries.
The technology, which has been developed by H2L Inc., a startup based in Tokyo’s Minato Ward, involves detecting with a sensor an arm’s muscle movements, as well as the inclination of the arm and the speed of its movements, and sending the data to a robot to reproduce them.
The robot was placed inside a hothouse of a strawberry farm in the city.
The event was realized after a strawberry grower contacted the firm three years ago, hoping to let people who can’t go out enjoy strawberry picking.
Fourteen people who stay at or regularly visit the hospital took part in the virtual experience.
They operated the robot while looking at a large display or a PC screen showing live footage taken by a robot-mounted camera.
A 56-year-old female inpatient said with a smile, “I feel like I’m being outside. It is valuable for me to be able to have such an experience.”
1. A robot remotely controlled from a hospital picks strawberries in Hitachiomiya, Ibaraki Prefecture, on Dec. 21.
2. An inpatient at a hospital in Hitachiomiya, Ibaraki Prefecture, operates a robot remotely to pick strawberries on Dec. 21.
