Robots providing day care and nursing services will be in Japanese households in five years' time, a government panel said Wednesday.
Based on the projection, the government and the private sector will accelerate their efforts to formulate common safety standards for nurse robots in the years ahead, industry ministry officials said.
To create a new robot market, the officials said it is essential that a neutral third party establish safety standards.
The New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization, a government-backed entity, will launch a new five-year project in April strongly focused on improving safety technology and standards of the next-generation robots, they said.
A report prepared by the panel at the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry recommended the government make efforts to see that the envisioned domestic standards eventually become the international standards.
It is hoped robots will play a key role in supporting the country's rapidly aging population.
As about 70 percent of industrial robots in the world are made by Japanese companies, the government is hoping expansion of the industry will also lead to a promising source of economic growth.
In Japan alone, the robot market is expected to total around ¥6.2 trillion in 2025, of which ¥4.2 trillion will likely be linked to day care and nursing, according to the officials.