Together with UCD Japan and UCD Centre for Japanese Studies we are delighted to invite you to an online webinar ‘Circuits of Care: Ageing in Japan’s Robot Revolution’ – Film Screening + Q&A.

Date: Thursday, 20 May 2021
Time: 12 PM (Irish Standard Time)
Registration is required:  https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/circuits-of-care-ageing-in-japans-robot-revolution-film-screening-qa-tickets-142400950075

By 2036, one in three people in Japan will be over the age of 65. While the nation wrestles with a shrinking labour force, the Robot Revolution Initiative was launched to expand robotics into every corner of the Japanese economy and society.

Circuits of Care follows anthropologist David Prendergast as he meets researchers developing and testing assistive technologies for older adults. From cybernetic walking supports to companion robots and automated sensor networks in nursing homes, older adults and care professionals share their experiences of the practical benefits these technologies bring, the problems they create and the unexpected relationships that can blossom.

Speakers:

• David Prendergast is a social anthropologist and Professor of Science, Technology and Society at Maynooth University in Ireland where he was also previously Head of the Department of Design Innovation. David also worked at Intel for eleven years where he was a Principal Investigator at the ‘Technology Research for Independent Living Centre’ and co-founder of the ‘Intel Institute for Sustainable Connected Cities’. He has served as Visiting Professor of Healthcare Innovation at the School of Nursing and Midwifery at Trinity College Dublin. His latest book ‘Aging and the Digital Life Course’ was named a CHOICE ‘Outstanding Academic Title’ by the American Library Association and was described as one of ‘the two most fascinating books on ageing in the 21st Century’ by the Huffington Post.
• Naonori Kodate is Associate Professor in Social Policy, University College Dublin and the founding Director of UCD Centre for Japanese Studies. He was previously Research Associate at NIHR King’s Patient Safety and Service Quality Research Centre, UK, and is currently affiliated with la Fondation France-Japon de l’Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales. He is the Principal Investigator of an international research project “Harmonisation towards the establishment of Person-centred, Robotics-aided Care System (HARP)”, working with teams in Ireland, Japan, Hong Kong and France. His recent publications include: ‘Can connected technologies improve sleep quality and safety of older adults and care-givers? (Technology in Society)’ and ‘Home-care robots – attitudes and perceptions among older people, carers and care professionals in Ireland (Health and Social Care in the Community)’.

For more information and to register: https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/circuits-of-care-ageing-in-japans-robot-revolution-film-screening-qa-tickets-142400950075

This event is supported by: