Want A Facial Massage? Ask A Robotby Mary Ann Romans | More from this Blogger 11 Oct 2007 06:49 AM Like something out of a science fiction movie or the Jetsons, robots have now been called into service to give facial massages. Researchers in Japan have developed a robot that was specifically designed to give a therapeutic facial massage to patients in hospitals and spas across the country. The creators, located at Tokyo's Waseda University hope to see the robot employed first for patients with jaw-related medical problems and then later for beauty and relaxation massages for the general public. The robot was also developed with Japan's Asahi University. The robot, dubbed the WAO-1 robot, or the Waseda Asahi Oral Rehabilitation Robot 1, it is built with cold-looking steel arms, cables and wires. It doesn't give the first impression of being very relaxing. The way the robot works is through ceramic spheres that are attached to the arms. The spheres are about the size of golf balls. The robot is programmed to roll the spheres around on the patients skin, using a set of algorithms that tell it how to massage. The pressure of the massage is constantly adjusted though sensors at the base of the arms. They measure and change the pressure of the massage as needed. Of course we have seen robots that massage us for many years now. Just walk through any mall, and you are pretty much guaranteed to find a bank of massage chairs that will give you your relaxation for a few dollars. But a robot that does facial massages is definitely a new thing. The bones and structures of the face are more complicated, more delicate, than let's say a back. And there is something about those steely arms coming at you that would put me off to the idea. Clinical trials of the WAO-1 robot are scheduled to begin in November, and it must be approved by a government safety panel before it is made available to hospitals, spas or the public. Mary Ann Romans writes about everything related to saving money in the Frugal Blog, technology in the Computing Blog, and creating a home in the Home Blog. You can read more of her articles by clicking here. Related Articles Turning Your Car Windshield into a Desktop? Learn more about Mary Ann Romans  Mary Ann Romans is a freelance writer, wife and mother of three children. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband, the kids and a 16-pound cat. Relevantcomputers tags User Comments No comments on this article yet. Be the first to comment! Community Tags gadgets, japan, massage, robots, spa Discuss this article
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