Nurse-bots under development
Wednesday October 28th, 2009
A nurse robot with sympathetic facial expressions is among mechanical hospital workers being developed worldwide, it was reported today.
Mechanical
"nurses" are proving popular with patients and can have a positive
impact, according to Nursing Standard.
It reports on a robot called Louise under development in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. She is operated by touch screen and leans forward, knits her eyebrows and nods her head when a patient complains about their pill regime.
Her developer Timothy Bickmore, of Northeastern University, Boston, said he was not trying to develop robots to replace nurses or solve staff shortages. But technology could help patients, he told the magazine.
In Australia robot Papero is just one foot high but is able to analyse patients' facial expressions for fear and anxiety.
He also asks patients how they feel and what their concerns are - and summons a human health worker if a patient needs reassurance.
The European Union meanwhile has a prototype robot called IWARD, which can collect drugs or find its way to a ward to conduct cleaning.
Tags: Australia | Europe | North America | Nursing & Midwifery
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