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Toyota Unveils Helpful Human Support Robot

Posted by samzenpus on from the runaway-part-two dept.

cylonlover writes "Toyota has unveiled a new assistant robot designed to help the disabled live more independently. Called the Human Support Robot (HSR), it represents the latest initiative in Toyota's Partner Robot program and is intended to help out around the home by fetching things, opening curtains, and picking up objects that have fallen to the floor. The HSR can be controlled using a simple graphical user interface via tablet PC. It can also wear a tablet atop its head, which would allow caregivers and family members to communicate with the robot's owner over Skype or other services. But unlike recent telepresence robots including the recently announced iRobot RP-VITA, the HSR has an arm and gripper for doing the simple tasks we often take for granted."

10 of 64 comments (clear)

  1. Cost savings? by whydavid · · Score: 3, Interesting

    If the robot came with an attached blood pressure cuff, pulse oximeter, and a few other things, it could also be applied to telemedicine. Since getting to the doctor's office is a huge challenge for many disabled folks, this could be a great opportunity. The telemedicine thing has and is currently being done, so this would really just be enhancing the robot with functionality that has already been prototyped, tested, and, in some cases, already deployed. If we're going to do this, let's go for the gold. Picking things up and enabling better communication is a great start, but becoming an all-around health companion and lifeline would take this to the next level and perhaps help it see uptake outside of robot-loving Japan.

    1. Re:Cost savings? by udachny · · Score: 2

      Yeah, good luck then trying to pass the FDA and similar obstacles on your way. Either it could never be advertised for that purpose or hundreds and hundreds of millions if not some billions would have to be spent proving that it's not a curling iron but a robot that can be used for some medical applications.

      --
      MY OTHER COMMENTS
    2. Re:Cost savings? by Yvanhoe · · Score: 2

      FDA is a purely American problem. Solve it if you want, but the rest of the world doesn't have to consider it like an obstacle when innovating...

      --
      The Wise adapts himself to the world. The Fool adapts the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the Fool.
  2. Re:Skype??? by Desler · · Score: 2

    Care givers also routinely run errands for the person they are caring for which may require leaving the house. Being disabled does not mean needing to be waited on hand and foot.

  3. Forget helpful human support... by RabidReindeer · · Score: 3, Funny

    ... if they develop an UNhelpful support robot, they can make a killing staffing call centers with it.

  4. Re:Skype??? by camperdave · · Score: 3, Funny

    Being disabled does not mean needing to be waited on hand and foot.

    Being disabled does not mean needing to be waited on gripper and omni-wheel.

    FTFY

    --
    When our name is on the back of your car, we're behind you all the way!
  5. "Wear a Tablet Atop its Head???" by CanHasDIY · · Score: 2

    It can also wear a tablet atop its head, which would allow caregivers and family members to communicate with the robot's owner over Skype or other services.

    Riiiight... 'cuz, you know, building in a webcam and LCD would just be... obtuse.

    --
    An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
    1. Re:"Wear a Tablet Atop its Head???" by timeOday · · Score: 2

      We had webcams and LCDs for about a decade before we had a video phone service that actually worked and that (more importantly) was widely adopted. Toyota is far from building these things in the numbers that would justify a special-purpose implementation of a functionality that already works (hardware+software) off the shelf.

  6. Re:Hybrid only? by MisterMidi · · Score: 4, Informative

    Carbon dioxide, not carbon monoxide. And given the size of the brains, I doubt it will be much.

  7. Another good story about these by marcopo · · Score: 3, Informative

    "The Caretaker", by Ken Liu, recently featured on escape pod is quite relevant.