[RD (OP)]

https://www.forbes.com/sites/japan/2018/01/26/telexistence-how-this-tokyo-startup-is-building-real-life-avatar-robots/

[alancalverd]

Funny animal, hom sap. Most of its present and future problems derive from overpopulation, but it spends enormous efforts (a) on keeping the weakest alive and (b) on making the strongest redundant.

Aside from the small matter of propagation delay, why would anyone want a doctor in Japan to carry out an operation in Brazil when, for less than the cost of the machinery, you can train a Brazilian doctor, and thus carry out two operations at the same time?

The bizarre attitude behind all this is exemplified by another passage from the article

“Children who are hospitalized long-term could visit Disneyland and share real experiences with their friends and family.

No, Susumu-san, secondhand Disneyland is not a real experience. Cardboard and candyfloss are available in Japan, and Americans in uniform are not trained to be rude to robots. The whole point of waiting for a ride is to make your feet ache, and the whole point of a ride is disorientation and nausea. You could build the necessary kit into a hospital bed, but I think the Geneva Convention forbids it.

[RD (OP)]

Funny animal, hom sap. Most of its present and future problems derive from overpopulation ...

Japan is one of the countries whose population is in decline ... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Population_decline#Contemporary_decline_by_nation_or_territory


An early prototype  ...

[alancalverd]

So there's hope for Japan yet.