CARES hosted a two-day strategic planning workshop to strengthen the collaboration between CARES, UniServices, Ritsumeikan University, AIST and ATR and to progress work on the Light-Weight Robotic Arm for the Elderly project.  The workshop took place at the UoA Newmarket Campus from 15-16 November 2016.

VA/Prof. Bruce MacDonald chaired the meeting. Visiting guests included Prof. Sadao Kawamura and Prof. Makoto Nokata from Ritsumeikan University, Prof. Akihiro Kawamura from the Kuratsume Laboratory in Kyushu University, Dr Yoshihiro Nakabo from the Japanese National Institute of Advanced Science and Technology (AIST), Dr.Christoph Bartneck from the University of Canterbury and Dr Yoshifumi Imamura and Ross Turner from the NZ Trade and Enterprise.

The bi-national partners look forward to future work on light weight inflatable arms and will explore opportunities to apply this technology to areas such as massage for therapeutic touch.