Japan is the leading manufacturer of robots. They have robots that have completely taken over factories. Instead of bringing in cheap labor, they are investing billions into robots to help maintain the workload. They have them in factories, hospitals, and homes. These robots can do anything from vacuum carpet to assist the elderly and handicapped.
http://www.today.reuters.com/news/
An Article in the Life & Leisure section titled Call Me Hal
This is truely an interesting article, my father is in a wheel chair and I know first hand the struggle of maintaining a healthy lifestyle, and an indipendant lifestyle. This article sparked my interest, to think that one day people like my father could be more independant and have an life made easier with the assistance of robots. This article talked aboutgiving the elderly a new lease on life. Hal, or Hybrid Assited Limb, is like a suit of armor that attaches to a person, and has sensors that can detect nerve signals and assist in movement. Japan has created bedside robots that assist stroke victems, artifical knee replacement patients, and physical therapy patients move their arms or limbs.