Japanese café employs paralysed people to make them financially independent

In a first of its kind in the world, a café in Japan has given jobs to paralysed people so that they don’t have to depend on anyone for their financial needs. The café in Japan’s Tokyo is staffed by robots who work as waiters. The robots, on the other hand, are controlled remotely by the paralysed people lying on their beds and wheelchairs.

At least 10 paralysed people with a variety of conditions control the robots in the café named ‘Dawn Ver Café’. They are earning 1,000 yen (7 euros) per hour, the standard rate of pay for waiters in Japan. The café has come as a source of hope and income for people with disabilities.

The robots connect with the disabled people and can do all the work like a normal person. The robots have been developed by Japanese start-up Ory. They were originally created to be used in homes of people with disabilities. The robots can be told to move, observe, talk to customers and carry objects, even if their operator can only move their eyes.

Most of the patients have spinal cord injuries and progressive neurodegenerative diseases.

“Can we all, disabled and able-bodied, find new communities and participate while being confined to our homes. Our effort is to blur the line between disabled and able-bodied,” Kentaro Yoshifuji, CEO of Ory Laboratory.