2021 HAPI Japan Best Practice Winner
THE PROBLEM
Robotics and video games have grown to be a key tool in the promotion of health and provision of welfare services for older people. Research on robot programming and welfare game development is being conducted at various universities, and can play an important role not only in developing students’ marketable skills but also in raising their awareness of social issues related to aging populations and of their own healthy longevity. However, most of this research is for educational or academic purposes and cannot be utilized in the market. As such, despite the valuable work being done, it has been challenging to connect student projects with actual care providers and businesses.
THE INNOVATION
TANO is a non-contact gamification system using motion sensors and offering a wide variety of games that promote movement and social engagement for health promotion and rehabilitation for older people. It is being used in hundreds of care facilities in Japan and overseas including China, Korea, and the United States. Rather than just being a commercial endeavor, the initiative seeks to connect education and welfare, promote society-wide cooperation through industry-government-academia partnerships, and create an environment in which children and students can develop an awareness of social issues from an early stage.
TANOTECH was established in 2018, and began developing its technology based on ongoing feedback from care providers, physical therapists, and users. They conduct field tests of TANO in hospitals/care facilities and work with users and caregivers to create a product that can be used in actual care settings, and thereby provide fun and excitement to users and caregivers. These efforts have been carried out in collaboration with numerous universities, and the involvement of young people has been a key factor. They hired university students as interns, allowing them to learn programming skills for gamification and participate in on-site training at companies to develop a better awareness of current issues. Programming classes were also held for elementary and junior high school students to help them understand that gaming can be useful to society. High school students were also engaged to create musical content for the games.
