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March 13, 2009
AgeLab
convened a roundtable – Caring Robots: Where High-Tech
Meets High Touch – examining the opportunity and challenges
associated with robotic systems in the home and long-term
care.
The roundtable discussion began with a presentation
by Dr. Takanori Shibata, Senior Research Scientist, Intelligent
Systems Research Institute, Japan Ministry of International
Trade & Industry. Dr. Shibata, a former robotics researcher
at MIT, demonstrated his therapeutic robot seal Paro,
named by Guinness World Records as the “World’s
Most Therapeutic Robot.”
Following Dr. Shibata, AgeLab facilitated
a roundtable discussion on the development and application
of robotic systems to support the independence, health and
care of older people. Discussants included MIT and Harvard
Medical School researchers, clinicians, industry and operators
of long-term care facilities.
The lively discussion identified technical
considerations in the design of robotic systems in both
the home and skilled nursing facilities. Related issues
of privacy, user acceptance, ethical issues of ‘substituting
human care and relationships with robotic care and touch,’
R&D policy to support the development and deployment
of robotic systems, and evolving business models that may
propel the commercial viability of robotics in an aging
marketplace were identified as topics for future research,
policymaking and business innovation.
Joined by students, ESD and faculty from across
MIT, as well as industry stakeholders, the roundtable discussants
included:
- Bryan Adams, iRobot Corporation
- Joe Coughlin, MIT AgeLab
- Don Fredette, The Boston Home
- Katherine Hesse, Harvard Medical School,
MGH Senior Health
- Alex (Sandy) Pentland, MIT Media Lab
- Nick Roy, MIT Computer Science Artificial
Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL)
- Sherry Turkle, MIT Science, Technology
& Society
The roundtable resulted in the
collaboration and submission of a Critical National Need
Idea white paper to the National
Institute of Standards and Technology or NIST. The paper
Extending Independence: The Case
for Federal Support for Robotic Caregiving Technology
was organized and produced by iRobot’s
Bryan Adams with contributions from the AgeLab, CSAIL,
Massachusetts
General Hospital and others in the aging an robotics
community across the country. The paper highlights national
R&D needs as well as projects that show promise to improve
the quality of life of older adults.
AgeLab, CSAIL and The
Boston Home currently collaborate on the development
of a robotic
wheelchair for use in long-term care settings. In addition,
AgeLab researchers will be working with Paro in the coming
year to better understand how therapeutic robots may assist
formal and family caregivers.
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