 |
 |
hi all no comment here except that i am struck dumb janet ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Emotion-sensing robots seen as future caregivers NEW YORK, Apr 10 (Reuters Health) - Robots may never be able to "feel," but machines that sense and respond to human emotion could one day help care for the elderly and others with serious medical conditions, research suggests. In lab experiments, a UK researcher found that with the help of a wireless modem link, his study participant was able to control simple behaviors of a small mobile robot with nothing more than "emotional responsivity." In other words, certain physiological changes linked to emotion - such as heart rate, breathing and blood pressure - were monitored through a biofeedback unit that then sent the information to the robot via the wireless modem. And the participant "very quickly" learned to use emotions to alter the behavior of the robot. Peter Eachus of the University of Salford, who conducted the research, said that the project is known as CARER - for Computerized Autonomous Robot with Emotional Responsivity. The work is "guided by the notion that the robot would ultimately act as a carer for the elderly or those with chronic illnesses who need some additional monitoring," he told Reuters Health. For example, Eachus explained, besides reacting to a human controllers' emotions, the robot could monitor a person's health status and, if necessary, alert health services, family or friends through an Internet link. He presented his research findings in Blackpool, UK, at a recent meeting of the British Psychological Society. According to Eachus, the technology he used - including the biofeedback system, wireless modem and robot - is "all off-the-shelf." Eventually, he said, such robotic caregiving could include a global positioning system, or GPS, which would allow the robot to monitor a human controller's movements. "This could be useful if a person collapses," he said. This so-called "blurring" of the interface between human and machine has been deemed feasible in other research. One recent study, for example, showed that electrical activity in monkeys' brains could be used to control a computer cursor - raising the possibility that humans with severe paralysis could one day control computers or robotic limbs with their thoughts alone. By Amy Norton Copyright 2002 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. http://www.reutershealth.com/archive/2002/04/10/eline/links/20020410elin005. html janet paterson: an akinetic rigid subtype, albeit perky, parky pd: 55/41/37 cd: 55/44/43 tel: 613 256 8340 email: [log in to unmask] smail: 375 Country Street, Almonte, Ontario, Canada, K0A 1A0 a new voice: http://www.geocities.com/janet313/ ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn