About two years A while ago, I was sitting in the car with my best friend and her toddler. She was driving, and I sat in the back next to her 10-month-old baby, who was in a car seat. The trip went smoothly for a while then the baby burst into tears. We tried all the usual tricks to comfort him. I grimaced in the most absurd positions, my friend burst into a catchy song, but our efforts were met with louder screams until finally – luckily! – we pulled into my friend’s driveway and she was able to lift her son in her arms.
This scenario, minus the useless friend sitting in the back, is probably familiar to many parents who drive alone with young children. And that’s why Japanese carmaker Nissan is developing a special puppet to calm backseat tantrums. It is called Iruyo, which means “I am here” in Japanese.
In fact, the furry babysitter gives off strong Elmo vibes two puppet: “Big Iruyo” strapped to the backrest of the back seat, facing the baby; and “Little Iruyo,” located in the driver’s cup holder. Big Iruyo does most of the work. When prompted by his parents with specific voice commands, older Iruyo can wave his hands, cover his eyes to play peek-a-boo, or clap his hands when his parents sing.
Photo: Nissan
Bots for Tots
Rear-facing child seats are significantly safer than front-facing seats, but they have one unavoidable drawback: you can’t see your child’s face while driving. That’s why Big Iruyo also has a built-in camera to monitor your child’s face. When your baby’s eyes are closed for longer than three seconds, the big Iruyo will think the baby is sleeping and will transmit a message to the baby Iruyo, who will close his eyes to mirror your little one. When your baby opens his eyes again, little Iruyo will do the same—like the high-tech game monkey see, monkey do.
Iruyo was designed by Tokyo-based advertising agency TBWA\Hakuhodo, in collaboration with Nissan as well as one of Japan’s largest retail chains specializing in children’s products, Akachan Honpo. The project began as a marketing campaign for Nissan’s sensor technology used in driver assistance systems. For example, some car models such as Nissan Ariya Use in combination radar sensor and front camera to continuously assess your environment and automate some of your driving, so you can take your hands off the wheel and your feet off the pedals on the highway.
Iruyo uses similar camera technology to evaluate the baby’s face and assist you in babysitting. TBWA assured me that the robot’s camera only detects eye movements, which the company says minimizes any privacy concerns associated with recording full facial expressions.
