If you grow old in Japan, expect to be served by a feeding robot, ride a voice-recognition wheelchair and hire a nurse in a robotic suit ¡ª all examples of cutting-edge technology to care for the country¡¯s rapidly graying population.
With nearly 22 percent of Japan¡¯s population already aged 65 or older, businesses here have been rolling out everything from easy-entry cars to remote-controlled beds, fueling a care technology market worth some ?126 billion in 2006, according to industry figures.
At a home-care and rehabilitation convention in Tokyo this week, buyers crowded round a demonstration of Secom Co.¡¯s My Spoon feeding robot, which helps elderly or disabled people eat with a spoon- and fork-fitted swiveling arm.
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