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HUMAN DECLINE
Humanoid robots will ‘replace declining human populations’ all over the world and ‘act as caregivers for the elderly’
Humanoids could even help to check the elderly for skin conditions
THIS week news broke that declining fertility rates could affect most countries in a quarter of a century.
The U.S. Sun spoke with one scientist who thinks humanoids will fill this gap in future populations.
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According to The Financial Times, 75 percent of nations are predicted to fall beneath population replacement birthrates by 2050.
This could cause many issues for the economy and society as a whole.
One major concern is that the elderly will have no one to care for them.
This is where humanoid robots could come in and do the tasks that relatives would once do.
The U.S. Sun took part in a training session demonstration for a humanoid robot at the South by Southwest conference in Austin, Texas.
Professor Luis Sentis from the University of Texas, Austin led the session alongside three colleagues.
"In Asia and Europe populations are decreasing very rapidly. I was born in Spain.
"We're going to have half of the Spanish people in half a century.
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"We're now 50 but we'll be 25 million," he told a small audience.
"In Japan, there will be half the population but there's many more elderly people," he warned.
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"They need people to check in on them. Sometimes not cooking but sometimes checking their health, or helping them to dress, or just checking the body."
Sentis believes humanoid robots can learn all these skills to assist aging populations.
"Robots becoming nursing support, I think that will be very important," he added.
The professor has been working with a team on a robot called Draco 3, which is already capable of simple tasks.
Draco 3 can make coffee, and simple meals, and could one day clean dishes in your home.