[/caption]Carol Forsloff - Persons with disabilities and seniors who may need a little extra support may soon find a whole range of technology to act like personal servants, if the computer scientists at MIT and elsewhere accomplish their aims.
What these computer scientists are doing is creating the mechanism for robots to virtually “think” in a virtual start to finish way by developing a set of algorithms that promote a detailed plan with certain detailed mechanisms. They have improved robotic technology for some of that “thinking,” however breaking tasks down into discreet elements remains a barrier.
Scientists say sacrificing some of this ability to be entirely human in thinking and planning in exchange for having increased efficiency with certain elemental tasks, such as cleaning a floor, can make a big difference for many people. They use as an example what might be a barrier reflecting the limitations and that is in asking the robot to land in one designated spot only to find something unexpected is there. Computers can’t “think” through the “what ifs” quite yet.
Rehabilitation research is also being undertaken at Rice University to continue the development of simple, fairly inexpensive systems that can help disabled persons to live independently. The University engineers are developing robotic technology to replace certain human manipulative functions. One of those most recent is a computer application program that commands a mobile robot called The Hero with a workspace extending from floor to tabletop heights. The user is able to control household appliances by the use of this technology, even if all the user is able to use is breath for navigational and manipulative tasks.
In this new world of technology, technical committees meet and interact in person or online from different research sites to share new information. The interest in robotic technology is worldwide, as scientists move to improve the lives of many people by providing robots to help with tasks some folks may be unable to perform except in limited ways or perhaps not at all. In many ways technological research is pairing with medical research, such as in brain imaging, as the emulation of human function requires an understanding of the medical issues involved with persons having physical or cognitive limitations, thus bringing new hope to people who need that extra help in order to be productive and independent.
