In a bid to help fix the nation's child care crunch, a Tokyo-based start-up is testing a new service combining robots and sensors to monitor kids at nurseries.
Global Bridge Holdings, a child care and nursing care venture, is working with academics from Gunma University to develop a system aimed at alleviating the burden of nursery school teachers, many of whom are overworked amid a nationwide staffing shortage.
The project features a specially designed bear-shaped robot called Vevo that can greet and identify children and record their body temperatures using a thermograph. During naps, sensors embedded in cots can monitor heart rates and body movements of children to make sure they are breathing. An alarm system will notify teachers if any abnormalities are detected.