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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."
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.
;-)
But I'd hire an assistant for that price.
Do you like German cars?
Shover, a robot for Grandma
Silly robot people. Everyone knows that its spelled "PERL"...
At 4 feet tall, how is it going to help get anything from a cabinet? My 5' tall mom has trouble doing that, With a step lader.
Fly me to the moon Let me sing among those stars Let me see what spring is like On jupiter and mars
Valerie, the domestic android is a better deal.
http://www.androidworld.com/prod19.htm
It will be capable of washing dishes etc, and will cost only $59000.
Here is one of their commercials
Old Lady #1: When my ex-husband passed away, the insurance company said his policy didn't cover him.
Old Lady #2: They didn't have enough money for the funeral.
Old Lady #3: It's so hard nowadays, with all the gangs and rap music..
Old Lady #1: What about the robots?
Old Lady #4: Oh, they're everywhere!
Old Lady #1: I don't even know why the scientists make them.
Old Lady #2: Darren and I have a policy with Old Glory Insurance, in case we're attacked by robots.
Old Lady #1: An insurance policy with a robot plan? Certainly, I'm too old.
Old Lady #2: Old Glory covers anyone over the age of 50 against robot attack, regardless of current health.
[ cut to Sam Waterston, Compensated Endorser ]
Sam Waterson: I'm Sam Waterston, of the popular TV series "Law & Order". As a senior citizen, you're probably aware of the threat robots pose. Robots are everywhere, and they eat old people's medicine for fuel. Well, now there's a company that offers coverage against the unfortunate event of robot attack, with Old Glory Insurance. Old Glory will cover you with no health check-up or age consideration. [ SUPER: Limitied Benefits First Two Years ] You need to feel safe. And that's harder and harder to do nowadays, because robots may strike at any time. [ show pie chart reading "Cause of Death in Persons Over 50 Years of Age": Heart Disease, 42% - Robots, 58% ] And when they grab you with those metal claws, you can't break free.. because they're made of metal, and robots are strong. Now, for only $4 a month, you can achieve peace of mind in a world full of grime and robots, with Old Glory Insurance. So, don't cower under your afghan any longer. Make a choice. [ SUPER: "WARNING: Persons denying the existence of Robots may be Robots themselves. ] Old Glory Insurance. For when the metal ones decide to come for you - and they will.
"Trademarks are the heraldry of the new feudalism."
Jesus Christ!! That looks like my sister's old Teddy Ruxpin after it got beat to shit!! :O
Join the TWIT army now!
I have two elderly (86, 90) parents who prefer to life by themselves away in Nevada, while I live in New York.
Since they can hardly take care of themselves, I hired almost-full time help to take care of them. I pay this person almost $80,000 a year for this.
A robot to do the same thing for a one time investment of $100,000 seems like a pretty good deal.
- John.
seniors will explode in the next two decades
Well, we'll save up on burial costs, but the clean up will be a bitch...
You can't take the sky from me...
Elderly people in developing countries are lacking **human contact**. Perhaps one of the best innovations in this respect in recent years has been to combine old folks homes in community buildings where childrens nurseries and other activities take place.
And if you thought that was boring you obviously havn't read my Journal ;-)
Maybe if it's as humaniod as they make it sound, then the elderly won't be too worried about breaking it. Sometimes, it seems like more low-tech solutions are just less intimidating for people that grew up with less technology.
The world's first 'gender challenged' robot? Seriously, that is just plain freaky. I'm sure your average 80 year old woman won't want that thing shuffling around in the dark.
"Excuse me Pearl, I have to go collect my pension, could you let me open the door please dear?"
"I'm sorry Gwyneth, I'm afraid I can't do that"
Mother, do you think they'll like this sig?
-nt-
Call on God, but row AWAY from the rocks!
cute my ass. Robots with human faces strike me as creepy, and there are dozends of reasons why...
------- "From bored to fanboy in 3.8 asian girls" ----------
from inlaid article:
Would it sense a stair to avoid a tragic fall?
Nope.
Can it bring a chair to relieve walking fatigue?
Uh, no.
What century is it going to be before futuristic versions of household help are actually in someone's home?
This one.
I would much rather help my mother out myself or hire in home help....not only is it much cheeper but at least she would be dealing with real people. Instead she'd be getting:
"Hell..o young madam how may i assist you?"
"quick get me a chair, a phone, a glass of water, anything to help me"
"Negative, i am unable to decrypt your off-topic request"
"god damnit your a helper-bot, what can you do?"
"i can dance, dance, dance if i want to" "and leave this world behind"
... when do the kids get a robot named Python?
Because we need to protect Grandma from the terrible secret of space. When she goes down the stairs, she will be protected.
N4st0r, trixx0r h0bb1tz0rz! Th3y st0l3 0ur pr3c10uzz!
SNL had a surrealistic skit with an ad for insurance against Homicidal Robot Attacks that was a sendup of the life and health insurance ads on TV that are aimed at preying upon the fears of the elderly. Frankly, I think the robots that we've been waiting for since the Jetson's have no chance of being made and used cost-effectively for anyone anytime in the foreseeable future. "Terminator"-like robots- now that's a different story.
... until it goes insane and starts attacking people out of love!
8==8 Bones 8==8
Your Idea would be very upsetting to Charlton Heston.
answer: items pushed - grandmother
target - stairs
it was that i did
pak chooie
Most conversations on this topic revolve "taking care of" the elderly, sort of like they are children. I think that the first adopters will rather be perfectly competent seniors with physical challenges, not mental ones. My father is more likely going to buy the thing for himself than me buying it for him.
My other sig is in jail.
To err is human. To arr is pirate.
I for one welcome our robot overlords!
They should merge some of this technology with that of QRIO. Especially since QRIO has amazing motion capabilities.
Ahhhh, I've fallen! And I can't get up!
--Rob
Towards the Singularity.
So how is this thing supposed to determine if Granny is is a diabetic coma verses taking a sound nap?
Dan East
Better known as 318230.
"The world population is rapidly aging -- at least in developed countries. So researchers everywhere are trying to find new ways to help elderly people to continue to live at home. ...Robot... It costs more than $100,000..."
Um, yeah.
Is there anything better than clicking through Microsoft ads on Slashdot?
>> The number of seniors will
>> explode in the next two decades
Did anyone else read this as, "a number of seniors will explode in the next two decades"?
This post written under Gentoo-linux with an SCO IP license.
what i wonder is if roland is paying off /. editors to get articles accepted!
just kidding. 'nother interesting post on his blog...
stored on computers from birth to the grave
I'm still waiting for inTouch health's remote presence technology to hit the streets. I've seen some of their demos and it looks very promising. It has the ability to cast yourself anywhere in the world and interact with your environment, keeping tabs on the kids and elderly. It inverts the ratio of the number of care-givers needed to take care of the number of elderly. Essentially, the idea is you can have one doctor or nurse able to project himself to the patient's location at any time with the help of these robots. Very cool.
This is quite competative with humans, which seem to cost 25K for unskilled helpers to 60K for a nurse. If nothing else, the robots would be useful if full time help were unaffordable.
"She's a scientist and a lesbian. She's not going to let it slide." Orphan Black
Old Lady #1: When my ex-husband passed away, the insurance company said his policy didn't cover him.
Old Lady #2: They didn't have enough money for the funeral.
Old Lady #3: It's so hard nowadays, with all the gangs and rap music..
Old Lady #1: What about the robots?
Old Lady #4: Oh, they're everywhere!
Old Lady #1: I don't even know why the scientists make them.
Old Lady #2: Darren and I have a policy with Old Glory Insurance, in case we're attacked by robots.
Old Lady #1: An insurance policy with a robot plan? Certainly, I'm too old.
Old Lady #2: Old Glory covers anyone over the age of 50 against robot attack, regardless of current health.
[ cut to Sam Waterston, Compensated Endorser ]
Sam Waterson: I'm Sam Waterston, of the popular TV series "Law & Order". As a senior citizen, you're probably aware of the threat robots pose. Robots are everywhere, and they eat old people's medicine for fuel. Well, now there's a company that offers coverage against the unfortunate event of robot attack, with Old Glory Insurance. Old Glory will cover you with no health check-up or age consideration.
[ SUPER: Limitied Benefits First Two Years ]
You need to feel safe. And that's harder and harder to do nowadays, because robots may strike at any time.
[ show pie chart reading "Cause of Death in Persons Over 50 Years of Age": Heart Disease, 42% - Robots, 58% ]
And when they grab you with those metal claws, you can't break free.. because they're made of metal, and robots are strong. Now, for only $4 a month, you can achieve peace of mind in a world full of grime and robots, with Old Glory Insurance. So, don't cower under your afghan any longer. Make a choice.
[ SUPER: "WARNING: Persons denying the existence of Robots may be Robots themselves. ]
Old Glory Insurance. For when the metal ones decide to come for you - and they will.
The Electric Grandmother was one of the first tapes my parents ever rented for our VCR. I thought that robot grandma was seriously creepy.
Pearl herself has had fits and starts, as a second-generation prototype suffering from the natural turnover in the project
Guy #1: what happened?
Guy#2: she hit a bump in the rug and turned over
Guy #1: naturally
Considering this thing doesn't manipulate it's environment or leave the house, why does it have to be mobile? Just put video cameras up around the residence and have it hooked into a central monitoring system.
Basically the article says the thing doesn't do anything interesting yet and won't for 10 years. What's the story?
___
It's the end of my comment as I know it and I feel fine.
If they're considering using or are using genetic algorithms to help her learn the best way to interact with her environment. It would take a while, but her up and give her a single task to learn; Say, the most efficient way to climb stairs. Then let the genetic algorithm go to work.
Probably the best use for genetic algorithms would be speech recognition; With each suceedding generation of (?) rules, she gets more and more accurate.
All I know is, I've got three grandparents and they could all use one.
Does Pearl, a robot specifically designed to help old people, run Perl, a language specifically designed to help old people think they have already lost their minds?
Sincerely,
Pan Tarhei Hosé, PhD.
"Homo sum et cogito ergo odi profanum vulgus et libido."
...couldn't we just live in small, dense cities connected by public transportation? Not only would it solve many of the problems of the elderly living at home, it would also cut pollution, reduce dependance on foreign oil, and save farm/timber land.
Of course, what do I know? I'm just a guy who has spent the better part of my 36 years in the suburbs, feeling quite powerless to change the poor design around me...
And yes, I know this is pie-in-the-sky stuff that would be hard to make happen without wrecking the free market and possibly doing more harm than good.
I also know every other obvious point with which you are about to rebut, so when you write your rebuttle, please don't imply I'm not aware of something bloody obvious just because I didn't say it.
That tactic just totally pisses me off.
For all intensive purposes, "whom" is no longer a word. That begs the question, "who cares"?
"The world population is rapidly aging"
I think each person ages at an average rate of 1 year per year...so yes, technically, that is true.
"Excuse me, did you say 'Trekker'? The word is 'Trekkie.' I should know; I created them." -- Gene Roddenberry
Pearl will protect you... from the terrible secret of space?
This is my sober response. Check back later for the one when I'm tanked. I'll make sure to have scotch in hand watching Carson reruns.
What a naive and hugely prejudicial view of the elderly. I am suprised it got mod'ed up. Seriously.
Now, running these robots - that would be an excellent thing to outsource! Each person in India controlling say five of these things... (each robot probably wouldn't be busy all the time). I suspect that would solve most of the problems that the researchers are having.
Sig under construction.
At what point do we up the retirement age? These lazy fuckers only end up working 65 years. If you're going to live till you're 95 years old, you'd damn well better be able to take care of yourself. I'm not paying for a bunch of lazy, shit & piss factories to play golf and fall down the stairs breaking hips and whatnot.
Note: I plan to die young, and not put this burden on the public at large. Someone pass me another bottle of whiskey, eh?
How about 'Pearl Necklace' a robot for the kinky?
This comment does not represent the views or opinions of the user.
Imagine a little "cart" that could follow you around like a dog. Big enough to carry a few bags of groceries. Walk to the store, get your groceries, and it follows you back on your walk. You stop, it stops, you go, it goes, it doesn't go off curbs, etc.
People get all in a twist over things like the DARPA Grand Challenge and the military's desire to "robotize" war. The real win is when someone realizes that the same autonomous concepts that could drive a vehicle 150 miles through the desert would be great for directing an electric wheelchair down the sidewalk or the above "dog bot cart" idea around the grocery store or in the garden, etc. Or use it for someone working a warehouse getting supplies, or...
I, for one, welcome our new Pearl Overlords.
There should be a moderation category for "/. clichés"
I think someone's been testing AI by having a robot mod slashdot posts...
Member of Orkut? Annoyed with spam?
Operator: How may I assist you today?
Grandma: I think my robot went insane.
Operator: What do you mean?
Pearl: @!#$ *&!@% ^#@% generic v,iagr4!
Operator: Was that Pearl?!
Grandma: Yes, and she's been doing this for a week. At first, it wasn't so bad, but it's been happening more and more often. And some of the things she says... well... they're horrible!
Pearl: More @#!$ pr0n for you!!
Operator: My goodness! OK, let's see, have you made any changes to her settings lately?
Grandma: Well... I did turn the reading thing on.
Operator: Reading thing?
Grandma: Yes, you know, it reads my e-mail to me... It was so nice, it told me all about this sweepstakes thingy...
Pearl: Refinance your @&*$ now!!! Low rates 4 U...
(old man): Pearl, I need my heart medication now.
(pearl): I'm sorry I can't do that Dave.
(old man): What? Who the hell is Dave?
(old man): Pearl, where are you going! Pearl!
cvaS
free ipod and free gmail!
A bit overly generalised perhaps, but I think it's not too unrealistic. I know anecdotal evidence dosn't prove anything, but my own family has still influenced my opinion on the matter. One of my grandparents is 86 now, has always eaten well and in moderation and has kept active her whole life. Her younger sister on the other hand, had tv and books as her main hobby, never cared about what she ate and didn't get any additional excercise. My grandmother still jogs, plays tennis, and is generally vigerous. Her sister, even though younger, can barley even get around on her own anymore.
Everything will be taken away from you.
Perhaps I should've surrounded my post in humor tags. Sigh...
don't they know robots slaughter the elderly for their medication?!
We need robots built into caddilacs and buicks to prevent old people from hitting things.
Call the system "NeverCrash"
One thing microsoft wont be able to cash in on!!!
I have mod points, but will reply!!
I second that!! I'm from India, a developing country.
ALL (yeah all) my grandparents were fully mobile and could go out even on long journeys on their own. They didn't need anybody's help.
My nanny was the most extraordinary kind of lady... he weighted may be less than 50, a very lean and frail figure but-
1. Seldom fell ill.
2. Was in full health when she died in her sleep at age of ~80+
3. Wore glasses, but could pick chaff and pebbles from rice!
4. Used to help in regular household stuff (cleaning, cooking etc) till the day she died.
The moral of the story - Remain active when you're young, be hard working AND follow a simple lifestyle (eating specially!!) - you'll never be a liability to your family or society.
OTOH, For $100,000 I bet one can hire a househelp even in developed countries who will look after elderly much better for the rest of their life.
- mritunjai
$100,000 ass wiper?
-- Trinity in high heels carrying a whip: The donimatrix - there is no spoonerism
"The world population is rapidly aging -- at least in developed countries. ..." [Emphasis mine]
I guess developing countries can't afford the laws of physics like the rest of the world where everyone else ages at the same rate due to the steady flow of time?
The next remark is false. The previous remark is true.
The world population is aging rapidly
Faster than one year per year? YIPES!
-Siggy!
While I think the parent poster could have been more subtle, he has got a point about physical exercise. The problem is that for most 20 and 30somethings, most traditional physical exercise for that age group is considered boring, so once they've finished high school and college, they just don't bother anymore.
Capoeira is a Brazilian Martial art which combines music, dance, and fighting techniques. It contains both fitness training and strength building, and good instructors will cater to any fitness level/age group to start with, until the person is up to the neccessary levels to start doing the more strenuous moves. A few years back an instructor came to our club, from Brazil, and displayed a dazzling array of moves - this guy was 65 years old. When you've seen a 65 year old doing backflips, cartwheel kicks, three-move air kicks, and hold his entire body weight on one forearm, you know that it's a tragedy that some older folks are having problems with basic movement and so forth, because it really is unncessary.
It would have been funnier if you had typed "weapons of maternal destruction".
Those who sacrifice security to condemn liberty deserve to repeat history or something. - Benjamin Santayana
Yes, you are.
Those who sacrifice security to condemn liberty deserve to repeat history or something. - Benjamin Santayana
This is not just a problem in the developed countries. Forecasts indicate that by 2050 the elderly will be a bigger fraction of the population in China than the elderly in the US. China's birth rate is lower than the US's, and they don't have immigration at the level that we do. While the Chinese economy is currently growing faster than the US economy, they are starting from a MUCH smaller per-capita income base, and so are likely have more difficulty paying for their elderly. Any country that has its birth rate under control will eventually have this problem (and if they don't have it under control, they will tend to have other problems). Many countries are going to have to make some tough decisions about what part of their national income they wish to spend on the elderly.
In the context of this story, how many $100K robots will the young be willing to buy for the elderly (yes, the robots will get cheaper)? Would you buy one for your Mom (note that male/female ratios are skewed towards women amongst the elderly)? What would you give up to buy it -- a Porsche, owning your own house, helping your kid through college? If you are young, would you let the government raise your taxes dramatically so the government can buy robots for all the Moms? Where does the robot fall on the list of things that are important to buy for Mom? Would you rather pay for the robot, or for the new $25K cancer medication? How about the $50K hip replacement surgery? Bill Gates and Scott McNealy can afford to buy their Moms all of these things -- can you?
I'm not elderly yet, but am almost certainly on the older end amongst the readership here, semi-early-retired and studying economics. Young people really, really need to be worrying about these issues, because they are going to have to make some difficult choices. And, I believe, they're going to have to start making them within the next ten years or so.
It is suboptimal with defining grammars and writing lexers, parsers and compilers. At least it is not as good as Lex and Yacc or Bison. Fortunately, it will change.
Sincerely,
Pan Tarhei Hosé, PhD.
"Homo sum et cogito ergo odi profanum vulgus et libido."
IE -> Tools -> Internet Options -> Advanced -> Play Sounds in Web Pages
I see no equivalent option in the latest Firebird. Yes, I know embedded audio isn't a standard "feature". And yes, I know you were mostly trolling (at least I hope so, with a phrase like "your web" in there). But, in fact, short of using about:config (which somebody asking a question like this wouldn't know about), Firebird currently has a severe shortage of user-accessible options compared to IE or the last Mozilla I used.
Slashdot quality declines as the number of hot grits posts decreases. - Provolt's Law, Apr-09-2005
BTW, would that IE option work for Flash audio? For MIDI?
As a better browsing alternative I would recommend Opera. To turn off the sound I just need to press F12 and disable "Enable sounds" and "Enable plug-ins". It can be turned back on just as easily.
Future Wiki -- If you don't think about the future, you cannot have one.
Embedded MIDI, yes. Flash no -- for the same reason a similar setting in Moz (if it existed) probably wouldn't work for the Flash plugin or, say, Java. Frankly, I can't say I've EVER wanted to hear embedded audio from a web page. :)
Slashdot quality declines as the number of hot grits posts decreases. - Provolt's Law, Apr-09-2005