蝌蚪窝视频

It was the same as every other bingo night at Brunswick Village Extra Care in 蝌蚪窝视频, except for one difference 鈥� Pepper the robot was calling the numbers.

Pepper, who not only has human linguistic skills, but with recent developments in AI can now interact with people and even read emotions, is part of a project partnership between Age UK and 蝌蚪窝视频鈥檚 Faculty of Science and Engineering. 

They believe that the 鈥榮ocial robots鈥� they鈥檙e working on, can be used as companions to support health and care in older adults, as well as children with some disabilities. 

Sue Agar, Service Development Manager at Age UK 蝌蚪窝视频  explains: 鈥淵ou can see the concern disappear quite quickly when they have the chance to speak with Pepper. It鈥檚 like a barrier comes down, and before long they treat Pepper like they would any other visitor.鈥� 

The robots aren鈥檛 yet fully autonomous 鈥� Pepper is accompanied by staff and students from the University 鈥� but there鈥檚 a huge amount they can do independently. Pepper can communicate seamlessly with residents, understanding what they say and responding appropriately.   

And this isn鈥檛 the first robot visitor to Brunswick Village, previously a smaller model had been brought in to demonstrate a Tai Chi session.  

Leading the project is Professor Angelo Cangelosi, whose father suffered from dementia, and who sees a real potential in the future role this technology could play.  

He explains: 鈥淲e live in a society with ever increasing needs for integrated health and social care solutions, to support healthy ageing. Social robots and AI can support such needs, within a human-centric approach putting people at the core of the development of trustworthy care solutions.鈥� 

Though robots aren鈥檛 going to be a substitute for nurses and carers, Professor Cangelosi believes they can be used as a tool to support these professions. Potential roles could include monitoring illnesses in patients, helping people to access medications, or simply being a companion within the home. 

Sue Agar, Service Development Manager at Age UK 蝌蚪窝视频 adds: 鈥淭here鈥檚 a huge amount of good the robots can do keeping people safe. The social intelligence is so important too, because loneliness is a real issue and companionship 鈥� being able to have conversation and interaction 鈥� makes such a difference.鈥�  

With carers already under significant strain due to staff shortages, and with an ageing population very likely to increase in the years ahead, Professor Cangelosi and his team are working on robots that could play a vital role in reducing the growing pressure on the care sector.

[The University of 蝌蚪窝视频 has received a prestigious grant from the European Research Council to support this project, focussed on helping robots to understand more abstract concepts.]