Baby boomers, those needing caregiving to get a boon in aid from robotsin 5 to 10 years

GHN News Staff -  “Just like people buy a car, I
envision that in five to 10 years, people will buy an assistive robot
that will be cheaper or about the same cost as a car.”


Cornell University Assistant
Professor of Computer Science Ashutosh Saxena believes within a
relatively short period of time robots will be brought into homes and
offices that  will be able to clean up a room, assemble a bookshelf, and
fetch an article of clothing or an important item for a disabled person
who can't get it.



All of this comes as the population
ages.  These inventions can be a boon for seniors, and those who hate
housework, at a time when caregiving can be expensive or difficult to
find with the numbers needing aid in the next ten years, with baby
boomers turning 65 in
2011.



Saxenda leads Cornell’s Personal
Robotics Lab, which
develops software for complex, high-level robotics.  He tells us that
the biggest technical hurdle is to be able to develop robots that can
learn in situations that may be less predictable or uncertain.  A robot
can be developed to do very simple things like pick up a cup, but to how
to do that it a new situation or environment is a whole different
thing.



Robotics will be a boon for seniors but in general could make people's lives easier.

"There are so many people who just want to get household chores done," Saxena said.