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Pearl, a Robot for the Elderly
Roland Piquepaille writes "The world population is rapidly aging -- at least in developed countries. The number of seniors will explode in the next two decades. So researchers everywhere are trying to find new ways to help elderly people to continue to live at home. This is why a team from Carnegie Mellon, the University of Pittsburgh, University of Michigan and Stanford University has spent the last four years to design Pearl, a robot specifically designed to help old people. Pearl has a humanoid aspect and is 4-feet high. Still, don't rush to the store to buy one for your old folks. It costs more than $100,000 and is not entirely ready for mass production. This overview contains more details and references. It also includes two pictures of the -- quite cute -- Pearl."
Woohoo! Not even trying, either!
That seemed like a friendly little beast.
ronal p. is a jerk!
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...Microsoft's Paul Allen recently invested heavily in umbrella manufacturing companies.
When asked for comment he mentioned the financial opportunities involved. "I'm also investing in Coca-Cola, because we'll need the appropriate solvent to clean up this problem looming on the horizon."
Additionally, Darl McBride was heard to blame the proliferation of open source software as the probable cause for said explosion. He recommended senior citizens purchase licenses from SCO before the impending threat affects them.