• Question: Could you make a robot for minding old People

    Asked by Adam to Ted, S. S., Laura, Kevin, Ellen, Andrea on 6 Mar 2019.
    • Photo: Kevin OBrien

      Kevin OBrien answered on 6 Mar 2019:

      It would certainly be possible to build an assistive robot for old people.
      I believe a number of companies already produce companion robots for this type of application.

    • Photo: Ellen Simmons

      Ellen Simmons answered on 6 Mar 2019:

      Definitely, but do you think old people would like that? When people get older and develop conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease, they can find unfamiliar people (and machines) very frightening. So just because you can make the robot doesn’t mean it will work…

    • Photo: Andrea Pacheco

      Andrea Pacheco answered on 7 Mar 2019:

      Yes you could build a robot to help old people in the daily duties, but it would be more difficult to build one that someone will consider a nice company

    • Photo: Ted Burke

      Ted Burke answered on 9 Mar 2019:

      Yes, robots certainly could help with some of the challenges faced by older people and might allow them to continue living independently for longer in their own home. One common example you’ll see in a lot of homes is a stair life, which helps people up and down the stairs. Other robotic devices can help people in and out of bed and the shower and things like that. I think it’s important for older people to still have human contact as well though – robots can help with physical challenges, but they’re not a complete substitute for human care.

    • Photo: Laura Farina

      Laura Farina answered on 13 Mar 2019:

      I could not, I have not such skills to build a robot. But I think there are already people working on it.

Comments