Monday,
December 16, 2002 |
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Feature |
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Aibo may become man’s
best friend
A Sony promoter shows the new limited edition Aibo entertainment robot during a demonstration in Tokyo. The limited Aibo robots in two colours, Burgundy red and Snow white, are on sale currently. |
COMPUTERISED
"pets," such as those coming from Japanese electronics makers,
could approach their flesh-and-blood counterparts in providing people
with social interaction stimuli, scientists have said.
Purdue University is
running a year-long study that puts an AIBO robot dog for six weeks in
the homes of persons 65 years and older who live alone, said Alan Beck,
director of the Centre for the Human-Animal Bond in Purdue’s School of
Veterinary Medicine. Cats and dogs have the well-documented ability to
improve patients’ stress levels, blood pressure and other factors.
Using robots could do the same while alleviating a medical staff’s
worries about possible animal drawbacks, such as the need for feeding
and exercise, Beck said.
"We want to see if
robots can provide social stimulation in places such as assisted-living
facilities and nursing homes," Beck told United Press
International. "The robots have just enough movement and action to
allow people to suspend their disbelief."
Using a robot also avoids
the possibility of an animal being neglected or abandoned, Beck said.
Although people have been
suspicious of the idea at first, positive reactions have come quickly
and strongly, Beck said. The first participant, in her ‘90s, started
off thinking the robot’s needs would include things such as batteries.
After three weeks of hosting AIBO, however, she said it needed attention
and physical contact, Beck said.
"We’re also finding
people get so involved they start using the same pseudo-language with
the AIBO that they would with real animals," Beck said. The robot
spurs more person-to-person contact as well, with visitors such as
grandchildren coming by more often, he said.
The robot’s programming
introduces enough random activity to keep a person’s attention, Beck
said. It can even provide mental stimulation, such as with a simple card
game, that can alleviate feelings of isolation, he said.
Despite their advantages,
robots such as AIBO lack the literal "warm and fuzzy" feelings
of a living animal, said Edith Markoff, coordinator of the Dog
Visitation Program at Children’s Hospital Medical Centre of
Cincinnati. This sort of approach is nonetheless a valuable adjunct to
animal-assisted therapy, Markoff told UPI.
"I can see
occupational therapy uses with children that would be incredibly
effective," Markoff said. "Once you start playing with
technology, it becomes so clear how you could use it."
The robots would be
especially useful in environments such as cancer or transplant wards,
where animals are forbidden, Markoff said.
Improvements in the robots’
design will take them past simple interaction, said Nancy Edwards, a
professor of nursing at Purdue also involved in the study.
"Ideally, down the
road, these robotic pet companions could become a more valuable health
asset," Edwards said. "They will record their masters’ blood
pressure, oxygen levels or heart rhythms."
One manufacturer already
is working to include a blood-pressure sensor in its robot, Beck said,
so holding the robot does more than just give the "owner"
something to cuddle. Other possibilities include alerting a nurses’
station if the person does not react to the robot for extended periods,
he said.
Those sorts of monitoring
activities could be very useful in home-care situations, Markoff said.
Japanese researchers have
done similar studies with Paro, a fairly simple, "baby seal"
creation with a few novel twists to appear more true-to-life. A
combination of airbag-based pressure sensors and artificial fur creates
a soft, pliable surface allowing Paro to sense when it is being petted.
The end of Paro’s power cord is shaped like a baby’s pacifier, which
is placed in the robot’s mouth while it recharges.
The study showed sessions
with the robot improve the subjects’ emotional states and they
reported feeling
more vigorous. Nursing staff members also reported
fewer symptoms of job burnout after dealing with Paro and the subjects,
the study’s authors said.
Purdue and the University
of Washington are working together on the AIBO study, funded by the
National Science Foundation.
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