Nissan has developed Iruyo, a two-piece animatronic "intelligent puppet" that detects sleep. In collaboration with an advertising firm and a baby goods chain, the Japanese carmaker created Iruyo to showcase its driver-assistance capabilities.

Iruyo is able to detect sleep patterns in children's eyes. Children engage with the primary Iruyo, a muppet-like robot, through hand gestures, songs, and vocal instructions. When it feels the child is asleep, it tells a smaller Iruyo in front of the driver to close its eyes, according to The Verge.

Voice commands may cause the miniature Iruyo to play peek-a-boo or clap. This solution tackles the challenge of soothing a wailing infant and ensuring parental tranquility, particularly when the child's car seat remains concealed from the driver.

Parenting Hack

Nissan and Akachan Honpo's cuddly Iruyo robots may help parents manage their children while driving. A joint poll by the two firms revealed the obstacles Japanese parents confront while driving alone with their children.

According to Wired, over 60% of Japanese parents drive solo with their children at least once or twice a week, according to the report.

Over 80 percent of respondents said they struggled to comfort and monitor their children while driving, especially when they cried. Babies under 15 months old have seats that face the rear of the driver's seat, making parent-child contact difficult.

Nissan and Akachan Honpo created fuzzy Iruyo robots with sensors and cameras to monitor youngsters on the go. The robots also help parents babysit while driving.

In further studies and tests with the Kitasato University Faculty of Health Sciences, actual parents and children faced these issues.

The dynamic and amusingly fuzzy Iruyo robot kept 90% of babies' attention during the display, resulting in longer attention retention. After activating the robot, half of the babies had more pleasant sentiments.

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The Iruyo robots' red, pink, and vanilla hues grab and hold children's attention. Associate Professor Takushi Kawamorita from Kitasato University's Faculty of Health Sciences recommended red as the predominant color because it attracts children early on.

Pink and vanilla were added to keep the robots looking good.

The Rise of Robot Babysitters

According to DesignBoom, the fuzzy Iruyo robots are a concept model, but Nissan and Akachan Honpo aim to develop them further.

The comments of participants in a test last February, held in the Akachan Honpo LaLaport Yokohama Store, would help improve these robotic babysitters' sensing technologies and functions.

Robotic nannies, or "companion robots," have become popular due to advances in robotics and sensor technologies.

In 2017, Toyota unveiled the Kirobo Mini, a miniature "communication partner" robot that informs drivers of low gas levels.

However, after one year, the Krobo Mini was withdrawn, raising concerns about its efficacy beyond being a marketing gimmick.

In 2020, Moxie, a 20-inch Teletubby-like robot, debuted as a child's closest friend following the release of Kirobo Mini. Snorble, a ghost-like robot, debuted in 2021 and offers children tailored nighttime rituals.

While these smart toys cannot replace human love, knowledge, and companionship, Iruyo's inventors hope they can make vehicle drives more fun for kids and less stressful for parents.

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