Description

Oimodon is a robot I have long dreamed of building. This conceptual sculpture represents my idea of a robot that gives roasted sweet potatoes to anyone who is hungry. As a human-robot interaction researcher, I often think about what robots should do in society and what it means to design them responsibly. These questions led me to reflect on the idea of justice. Takashi Yanase, the Japanese comic artist best known for creating Anpanman, experienced World War II and later struggled deeply with the question of what is right and what is wrong. After the war, he endured many days of hunger, but he never forgot the joy of finally being able to eat. From this experience, he expressed a simple belief: giving food to someone who is hungry is always the right thing to do. His story inspired me. I began to imagine a robot whose purpose is similarly simple, to share food and bring small moments of comfort and joy. Sharing a meal with someone has always been meaningful to me, and food often creates moments of connection between people. The robot offers roasted sweet potatoes (yakiimo in Japanese), which are my favorite food. When I was a child, my grandmother would always prepare sweet potatoes for me whenever I visited her. Through Oimodon, I hope to share that same warmth and joy with others.