Robot seals the next big thing in care for fragile dementia patients

Maybe that robot will need to have arms that stick out. But most of these robots will be small. I can imagine a little unmanned aerial vehicle that flies around your backyard and looks for pests on your plants.Is it a flight of fancy to think that we'll have those kind of UAVs? I've read for many years that things like this will be created, but most of them haven't come to pass.We're reaching a tipping point in consumer robotics due to advances in technology. Part of it involves communications. A smartphone can move the entire collection of Shakespeare's works in just three seconds. That sort of data can be stored in the cloud instead of in a phone,Look ma, I made a robot or in a robot. There's also been a boom in data collection and in ways to analyze data.

You're going to see "anticipation robots" that use advance algorithms to figure out what you need before you know you need it.Charlie is a Paro - a baby seal robot that can respond to voice, light and touch and is the next step in improving care in elderly dementia patients.He is just one robot pet that will find a new home in residential care facilities as researchers examine how the Japanese-designed technology can reduce levels of anxiety and even re-engage those suffering from the disease.Griffith Health Institute's Centre for Health Practice Innovation expert in dementia Professor Wendy Moyle is leading the three-year study, funded with $1 million by the National Health and Medical Research Council.

"When a person with dementia comes into residential care there can be a lack of stimulation … these Paros can be used as a companion, a therapeutic means of nurturing an emotional response," Prof Moyle said.Prof Moyle said due to high work demands on staff, the average elderly patient in nursing homes barely received half an hour of face-to-face direct contact in a day.She said it was not about the robots replacing human interaction but helping patients re-engage emotionally."We've had some quite negative comments about robots taking over the world ... but it's about them assisting those in need,'' she said.Petting "Charlie" on the head, Prof Moyle said the robots - about the size of a newborn baby and weighing about 2.7kgs - were similar to a dog or cat in a nursing home but cut out the need for cleaning up after a real animal.