CosmoBot levels the playing field for disabled children
From: ACM interactions  - Volume 12, Number 2 (2005), Pages 14-16 
By: Corinna Lathan, Amy Brisben, and Charlotte Safos  

Most children with disabilities are engaged in some form of therapeutic
rehabilitation and receive special education services. Therapists and
educators spend much of their time trying to motivate children to perform
therapy or participate in educational activities. Technology, specifically
robotics, can level the playing field for therapists, educators, and children
with disabilities. 

The CosmoBot system has been designed to provide motivation for children to
perform their therapies, thereby assisting therapists and educators to
perform their tasks more effectively and efficiently. A primary objective,
particularly for children with severe disabilities, is to encourage them to
interact as much as possible with their environment. For this reason, the
gestural interface technology is enhanced with a robot, designed to act as a
child's friend and companion. By motivating children to interact with a
robot, professionals can focus on providing excellent care to these children.
The system will also benefit parents and family members of children with
disabilities to motivate children to learn while having fun. 

Read the entire article at:
http://delivery.acm.org/10.1145/1060000/1052453/p14-lathan.html?key1=1052453&key2=6404011111&coll=ACM&dl=ACM&CFID=40264284&CFTOKEN=7353557

Citation:
http://portal.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=1052453&jmp=cit&coll=ACM&dl=ACM&CFID=40264284&CFTOKEN=7353557#CIT

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Robotic products to assist the aging population
From: ACM interactions  - Volume 12, Number 2 (2005), Pages 16-18
By: Jodi Forlizzi

Technological advances are being directed to assist the senior population and
those who provide care. These products, which can be charted in the assistive
robotics literature, emphasize the independence of the elderly as a primary
goal. They provide support for a range of basic activities, including eating,
bathing, dressing, and toileting. They support mobility in the form of
ambulation assistance and rehabilitation. They provide household maintenance
in the form of monitoring and maintaining safety in particular environments
[4]. However, many of these products have been designed with little
consideration of the social, aesthetic, and emotional relationships that the
elder (and community of users) will form with the product. Instead of
supporting the elder's quality of life, many instead highlight the
disabilities of their users and are stigmatizing. Future assistive robotic
products need to move beyond task-based interactions, and be attractive,
affordable, and non-stigmatizing. Accessibility, ease of use, and reliability
are particularly important for this population. 

Read the entire article at:
http://delivery.acm.org/10.1145/1060000/1052454/p16-forlizzi.html?key1=1052454&key2=7654011111&coll=ACM&dl=ACM&CFID=40264284&CFTOKEN=7353557

Citation:
http://portal.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=1052454&jmp=cit&coll=ACM&dl=ACM&CFID=40264284&CFTOKEN=7353557#CIT

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Socially intelligent robots
From: ACM interactions  - Volume 12, Number 2 (2005), Pages 19-22
By: Cynthia Breazeal

What is a socially intelligent robot? It is a difficult concept to define,
but science fiction offers many examples. There are the mechanical droids
R2-D2 and C-3PO from Star Wars. There are many wonderful examples in the
short stories of Isaac Asimov, such as Robbie. And more recently, there is
Teddy from the movie Artificial Intelligence. Science fiction illustrates how
these technologies could enhance our lives and benefit society, but it also
warns us that this dream must be approached responsibly and ethically, as
portrayed in Blade Runner. 

...

Health-related and eldercare applications are being widely explored. Several
universities are developing robots that lend assistance to the elderly in an
eldercare facility, such as socially interactive robotic walkers that escort
patients to appointments with the nurse or care provider. Doctor's have begun
to explore robotic telepresense technologies - remotely operating a mobile
robot equipped with video conferencing technology to allow them to visit
their patients at different hospitals. In addition, researchers are
developing robotic pet therapy surrogates that are intended to provide the
same health benefits of their living counterparts.  

Read the entire article at:
http://delivery.acm.org/10.1145/1060000/1052455/p19-breazeal.html?key1=1052455&key2=7274011111&coll=ACM&dl=ACM&CFID=40264284&CFTOKEN=7353557

Citation:
http://portal.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=1052455&jmp=cit&coll=ACM&dl=ACM&CFID=40264284&CFTOKEN=7353557#CIT

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