05:11Disabled man breaks through barriers operating avatar robot at pioneering Tokyo cafe
A Japanese comedian who is unable to move any part of his body except his face and left thumb due to spinal muscular atrophy has been operating through a robot avatar to serve customers in a cafe in Tokyo as part of a pioneering initiative aimed at helping people overcome loneliness and working difficulties.
Mr Aso, who is famously known as 'the first bedridden disabled person in the comedy world', lives in Koshi City, Kumamoto Prefecture. He was seen on Sunday remotely operating his avatar robot at 'Avatar Robot Cafe DAWN Ver.beta' which is located in Tokyo.
"I found this pilot job so that I could work from home, and it helped me a lot in terms of income. Also, people with severe disabilities like mine from all over the country are working as pilots at the same cafe, so having more friends in a similar situation has really changed my life," said Aso as he remotely controlled his avatar robot OriHome-D using a set of controllers from home.
In Tokyo, the brains behind the project Kentaro Yoshifuji, Co-founder and CEO of Ory Laboratories added, "To use such robots, which we call 'avatar robots' to participate in society, and as part of our experiments, we opened this avatar robot cafe in June this year. It's an experimental cafe where people who have difficulty moving their bodies or going out can control robots, work, and get paid."
The cafe was first opened in June to help eliminate loneliness in people with severe disabilities.
05:11A Japanese comedian who is unable to move any part of his body except his face and left thumb due to spinal muscular atrophy has been operating through a robot avatar to serve customers in a cafe in Tokyo as part of a pioneering initiative aimed at helping people overcome loneliness and working difficulties.
Mr Aso, who is famously known as 'the first bedridden disabled person in the comedy world', lives in Koshi City, Kumamoto Prefecture. He was seen on Sunday remotely operating his avatar robot at 'Avatar Robot Cafe DAWN Ver.beta' which is located in Tokyo.
"I found this pilot job so that I could work from home, and it helped me a lot in terms of income. Also, people with severe disabilities like mine from all over the country are working as pilots at the same cafe, so having more friends in a similar situation has really changed my life," said Aso as he remotely controlled his avatar robot OriHome-D using a set of controllers from home.
In Tokyo, the brains behind the project Kentaro Yoshifuji, Co-founder and CEO of Ory Laboratories added, "To use such robots, which we call 'avatar robots' to participate in society, and as part of our experiments, we opened this avatar robot cafe in June this year. It's an experimental cafe where people who have difficulty moving their bodies or going out can control robots, work, and get paid."
The cafe was first opened in June to help eliminate loneliness in people with severe disabilities.