Robots help elderly dress
A newly designed robot, which can reportedly clothe a person who is aged or physically challenged, will help to make life easier for carers. The Nara Institute of Science and Technology (NAIST) is the creator of the robot, which has been described as the world’s first robotic system that has the ability to dress a person.
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A newly designed robot, which can reportedly clothe a person who is aged or physically challenged, will help to make life easier for carers.
The Nara Institute of Science and Technology (NAIST) is the creator of the robot, which has been described as the world’s first robotic system that has the ability to dress a person.
By using the idea of skills transfer from a robot to a human caregiver, the robot can reportedly receive reinforcement learning in just minutes and adapts to the individual shape and size of the person being clothed.
Associate Professor Tomohiro Shibata, from the Mathematical Informatics Laboratory, who headed the research, claims the robots are “incomparable” due to their quick response to the slightest physical interactions.
While dressing and changing can be difficult tasks for some elderly and physically challenged people, Professor Shibata did confirm the difficulty in determining the optimal robotic motion for managing soft materials, like clothing, against a person of a distinct shape and changing posture.
The creator of the robot’s arms, company Barrett says they are impressed with Dr Shibata’s team for accomplishing a “complex assignment” which will reportedly help clothe people in “just a few minutes”.
