What the avatar robot “OriHime” made possible: A close look at the dream of a giveaway winner.

Hello, this is PR Sunny-chan!

We would like to introduce the story of Rika Ito, a winner of the “Money Giveaway” project conducted jointly by President Tsugihara and Yusaku Maezawa.

What was Rika Ito’s dream?

The theme of this project, for which applications opened on March 8 (International Women’s Day), was “Supporting the dreams of all women who take on challenges.” We received many dreams from everyone who applied.

One of the 200 winners, Rika Ito, who lives in Gifu Prefecture, had a dream: “Even though I am paralyzed from the neck down and live in a wheelchair, I want to work at an avatar robot cafe and invite the people who have supported me to that shop.”

Avatar Robot Cafe DAWN ver.β 2.0

Ms. Ito suffered a spinal cord injury in a traffic accident when she was a high school student, resulting in a severe disability that left her paralyzed from the neck down. While living her daily life with the support of many people, her desire to express her gratitude to those who helped her grew stronger every day.

One of the people on Ms. Ito’s invitation list was President Tsugihara.

Immediately after the winners were announced, Ms. Ito contacted President Tsugihara.

“As a first step toward my dream, I would like to prepare an avatar robot and go to meet Ms. Tsugihara.”

Ms. Ito’s OriHime arrives at the office

Following this wonderful proposal from Ms. Ito, a meeting between Ms. Ito and the President took place recently. Arriving at the office was a cute, small white robot. It was the avatar robot “OriHime.”

“OriHime” serves as a second body for people who cannot go where they want to go due to distance or physical constraints, such as childcare, working away from home, or hospitalization. It supports people facing challenges in social participation, such as those who are bedridden or have lost their voice, so that they can work in society. It is a robot that can overcome the challenges preventing social participation through technology and expand the possibilities of society.

When the power was turned on, Ms. Ito’s voice could be heard.

“President Tsugihara, hello! Can you hear me?”

Upon hearing that first greeting, the President and the members couldn’t help but exclaim, “Oh!” in surprise.

Through OriHime, she once again shared her motivation for applying to this project and her thoughts. As Ms. Ito spoke while incorporating OriHime’s gestures, such as waving and nodding, it felt as if she were right there in person.

President Tsugihara offered words of encouragement, saying, “Although we couldn’t speak in the same location during the difficult time of the COVID-19 pandemic, I am happy that we could meet through technology like OriHime. I hope you will use this win as an opportunity to move further toward your dream.”

Interacting with members in the office!

Because OriHime is very light, it is easy to go out with someone in a remote location and share the scenery. After the two spoke for a while, we took OriHime on an office tour and interacted with members of the SUNNY SIDE UP GROUP.

At first, the members were surprised to see OriHime for the first time, but they soon became accustomed to it and enjoyed communicating smoothly with Ms. Ito. Ms. Ito responded with gestures as well.

We even sneaked into a training session for new graduates who had just joined the company!

Before we knew it, the time spent with Ms. Ito had already reached the evening. It was a fulfilling time that significantly exceeded the scheduled duration.

In Closing

Through this event, Sunny-chan also took a moment to reflect on communication once again.

We give a big smile when we are happy, and our shoulders drop when we are sad. When we meet someone we’ve wanted to see, we might hug them even before saying the words “I missed you.” Sometimes, the emotions we feel overflow from our bodies before they take shape as words.

Looking at it this way, I feel that our daily communication is not composed of words alone. I thought that actions such as facial expressions and gestures might also be important media for conveying one’s feelings to others.

OriHime expresses not only voice and camera communication but also actions such as hand gestures and nodding. The sight of OriHime moving while conveying the other person’s voice makes it feel as if the person themselves is there, going beyond a mere avatar.

OriHime is currently conducting a crowdfunding project to open a permanent experimental location for the “Avatar Robot Cafe.” The permanent cafe is scheduled to open in Nihonbashi at 12:00 PM on Monday, June 21, 2021.
https://camp-fire.jp/projects/view/405051?list=search_result_projects_popular

Avatar Robot Cafe DAWN: https://dawn2021.orylab.com/
OriHime Official Website: https://orihime.orylab.com/

About the Author

Sunny-chan

The group PR representative devoted to “sunny-side-up eggs.”Keeping antennas up both inside and outside the company, they are on the lookout for the “next fun commotion” and sharing it.From member-led projects to in-house events, they cover the widest range of article categories in the company! Their most immediate goal is to “reach 3,000 followers onthe official Twitter”!