New robot takes care of the elderly

Researchers at the University of Massachusetts (UMASS), USA have successfully built uBOT-5 robot to care for the elderly. With this robot, they believe they have found a solution to reduce the pressure of caring for the elderly.

Baby boomers are entering retirement age. The robots are ready to help, care and improve the quality of life for the elderly. University of Massachusetts Amherst researchers have developed a maid robot that can call 911 in an emergency, remind employers to take medication, help them shop everyday and allow owners to talk to loved ones and health care workers. Family members can visit parents from any Internet access point, including locating around the house and looking for a parent in case they may not hear the phone ringing or need help. support. Doctors can make calls to the home, reducing travel needs.

According to computer scientist Rod Grupen, director of the Perceptual Robot Laboratory of Mass Amherst University, the project developer ASSIST with computer scientists Allen Hanson and Edward Riseman, 'For the first time, robots are fully qualified. Safe and reasonable in cost to perform meaningful tasks in a residential environment. '

The uBOT-5 robot can help elderly people live independently and relieve pressure on caregivers, the health system and community services, which are thought to be under pressure from holidays. retirement of over 77 million Americans over the next 30 years.

It is impossible to mistake the uBOT-5 for humans, but its design is based on the inspiration of the human body. An array of sensors acts as the robot's eyes and ears, allowing it to recognize human activities, such as walking or sitting. It can recognize an unusual visual event such as a fall and inform a remote health care provider. Through the interface, the remote service provider can ask the robot owner to talk, laugh or raise both hands, movements that the robot can perform. If the person does not respond, the robot dials an emergency 911, informs the family and applies a digital stethoscope to the patient, recording information for an emergency medical officer on duty.

When finding an elderly person with an accident, uBOT-5 checks their health via a headset and calls 911 emergency number (Photo: Gizmodo.com.au)

This system also tracks things that are not human. If a delivery agent leaves a package in the corridor, the sensor sequence is programmed to notice that the path has been entangled and the robot can move the obstruction out of the way. It can also lift two straight arms, carry a load of about 1kg and is capable of performing household tasks that require dexterity such as cleaning and shopping for household goods.

The uBOT-5 robot carries a webcam, a microphone and a touch-sensitive LCD display that acts as an interface to communicate with the outside world . 'The grandmother can hold the robot's hand, lead out to the garden and have a virtual visit to the child living on the other end of the country.' Grupen also added that isolation may lead to depression in the elderly.

Grupen studied developmental neuroscience to create a type of robot that can perform many different tasks in different environments.UBOT-5's hand motors are similar to our muscular and joint systems , and it can push itself up in a vertical position if it falls. It has a 'spine bone' and an organ equivalent to the inner ear to balance on the Segway-like wheels.

Researchers want to create a personal robot that can provide a variety of services, such as a medical alert system, or a tool to talk to relatives, all in a robot like a human. To assess the effectiveness of this potential technology, the research team works with social activists, members of the medical community and family members of elderly people in care.

Cooperative effort, named ASSIST project, including researchers from Smith School for Social Work, Veterans Administration (Connecticut Health Care System, West Haven University campus) and community care centers for the elderly. Through key groups, researchers have captured the interests of future owners.

Not only care for the elderly, uBOT-5 can also perform virtual monitoring via LCD monitor, webcam and Internet (Photo: Scicendaily)