Robots here to help | Tech - Innovators Magazine

Humankind could do with a bit of help right now and robots might just be able to provide some much needed support, observes Susan Robertson, co-founder of Innovators Magazine. 

Photo: Heriot-Watt University

Thanks to a world first pioneered at the UK’s National Robotarium at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, a new multi-user conversational robot is being developed that will safely enhance elderly healthcare. Pioneered through an international collaboration of European and Asian institutions, the project, called SPRING (Socially Pertinent Robots in Gerontological Healthcare) is funded by Horizon2020, and is the first to come from the Robotarium. These Socially Assistive Robots (SARs) will be able to talk and interact with elderly citizens in healthcare facilities – with social distancing already built in.

“This type of technology is touch-free and hands-free so will be in great demand in the future as it will reduce the risk and spread of infection,” said Professor Oliver Lemon from Heriot-Watt University...

COVID-19
The touch-free and hands-free nature of the SPRING developed robots are hugely important factors in light of infectious diseases like COVID-19. Stopping any spread through touch is a key element of this innovation. And a group of international experts in robotics have penned an editorial this week stating that robots are already combating the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Already, we have seen robots being deployed for disinfection, delivering medications and food, measuring vital signs, and assisting border controls,” the researchers wrote in Science Robotics.
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Source: Innovators Magazine