PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — A group of academic researchers, led by cognitive and computer scientists from Brown University, is teaming up with a cross-functional team from global play and entertainment leader Hasbro to design a smart robotic companion capable of assisting older people with simple but sometimes challenging tasks of everyday living.
Investor money has forever flowed to innovation in robotics. Robots on the Runway at Digital Health at CES offered a view of what was new then in human-like robots, the most charming was Anybots QB, now QB2 – which would 'go to the office for you.' In fact, this ‘telepresence’ robot begs the question, what’s a robot anyway – is it a 'machine controlled device through an external or (usually internal) computer, often equipped with audio, visual, and/or tactile sensors as well as other devices and tools to perform one or several programmed jobs?' Oh yeah. They can be autonomous, like the iRobot one for the military – working on their own. Like Anybots, they could be a telepresence robot – a 'remote controlled, wheeled device that has wireless internet connectivity.' And the market for all types in healthcare globally some say is $2.8 billion.