robo-nurse

The Japanese Times wrote that the Japanese government has invested more money (about $20 million) for the 2013 budget alone (I don’t know the figures of how much in total the gov’t has invested in over the years), to develop ‘nursing care robot equipment’ for their aging population.  They’re preparing for the near-term when the number of Japanese over 65 is expected to increase by 30 percent in the next twelve years, requiring an expected 2.32 million to 2.44 million caregivers to look after them. And how much has the U.S. invested in nursing care robot technology?  This is not
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killer apps

“Alex, (as in Trebek as in ‘Jeopardy’), I’ll take, ‘Terms roboticists shouldn’t be using’ for $200, please”.  Yup, Killer Apps is another one on my ‘please do not use in front of the public’. Killer Application (Killer App) used in the robotics industry typically refers to the next big robot application that will be necessary for, or desirable by, all consumers.  Killer app is a commonly understood term in all of technology, but when it is specifically referred to as such in robotics, the public may (again) subconsciously think the ‘Killer’ is threatening, as in, “Oh!  Like the Killer robots used
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Fastraking: The tolls for thee

I was having a discussion with a friend of mine who had flown in for the day from LA and was heading back to the airport via the Golden Gate Bridge (GG).  The GG, as of recent, is now 100% electronic tolling; one can prepay via FasTrak, Pay-by-Plate, or wait until a bill is sent to the registered owner via the picture that is taken of the license plate as the car proceeds through the toll.  What is the visitor/tourist supposed to do who has no previous knowledge of this?  In my friend’s case, the rental company will get the
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Getting Disruptive With It

‘Disruptive’ is the latest buzz term headlining presentations at robotics’ conferences.  Wikipedia describes Disruptive as ‘an innovation that creates a new market by applying a different set of values, which ultimately (and unexpectedly) overtakes an existing market’, and provides several examples – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disruptive_innovation.  Over the next years, many robotic innovations, some of course not yet known, will undoubtedly prove to be ‘disruptive’ as they transform our society and improve our quality of life. However, with all the negative backlash from the recent media about ‘robots taking jobs away from humans’, I’m concerned that the public, not knowing what the economic definition
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Mechanical sleep?

I know I seem like an industry pundit (I wish it were true), but I just can’t believe what I read on a daily basis, and how off base people are. Fox News published an article entitled “Will doctors be replaced by robots under Obamacare?” The piece is about Sedasys, an automated anesthesiology system. The author, Dr. Manny Alvarez should know better. Obamacare will change things, but let’s be realistic. Besides, we wouldn’t want to shock the robots. I tweeted Dr. Manning the following in response: @drmannyonFOX Where does it say that Sedasys will ‘replace’ anesthesiologists? Or is this your
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