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Robotics

Pearl, a Robot for the Elderly 170

Posted by michael from the my-robot's-fallen-and-it-can't-get-up dept.
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."
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Pearl, a Robot for the Elderly

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  • Interesting (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Scoria ( 264473 ) <`slashmail' `at' `initialized.org'> on Saturday April 10, 2004 @07:27PM (#8827417) Homepage
    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. ;-)
    • What about a virtual PI (adviser) for that price? Nature 428, 467 (01 April 2004); doi:10.1038/428467d
    • Could bots such as this bring back the butler? Not so long ago it was rather common for many upper and middle class families to have "service", could we see a resurgence of this?

    • Re:Interesting (Score:1, Insightful)

      by Anonymous Coward
      Right. Hire some teenagers, grampa sitters, to help. Better to have some real humans around. A robot would be a way to torture old folks. Loneliness is real. Idiotic technical fix for a human problem.

      • Hire some teenagers

        The whole point of building these things is that, eventually, there will be a dearth of teenagers, nurses, and other humans to help the elderly.
        Too, a full-time robot nurse would probably cost less than a human one in the long run, and be able to monitor a disabled senior 24 hours a day, 365(6) days a year.
        (At least three humans would be required to perform the same task (outside of nursing homes).)

        My hope, though, is that medical science will have advanced enough that nanotechnology w

    • Yeah, we need to spend more money on old folks.

      Seriously... if you have $100,000 consider spending it on young folks.

  • Shover (Score:1, Offtopic)

    by Doomrat ( 615771 )
    Shover, a robot for Grandma [somethingawful.com]

  • Don't they proof-read? (Score:5, Funny)

    by ScriptMonkey ( 660975 ) on Saturday April 10, 2004 @07:29PM (#8827427)
    Silly robot people. Everyone knows that its spelled "PERL"...

  • only 4'? (Score:5, Funny)

    by Ironsides ( 739422 ) on Saturday April 10, 2004 @07:29PM (#8827430) Homepage Journal
    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.
    • Go Go gadget arms?

      Of course, they did say that it doesn't have arms currently. How'd stuff get up onto that high shelf in the first place?

    • Re:only 4'? (Score:3, Funny)

      by Dutchmaan ( 442553 )
      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.

      Didn't anyeone mention that most of that $100,000 cost is the jet packs...
    • There are various things out there (usually with little trigger handles and rubber tipped ends) to help short people with this problem. I imagine any one of them could be altered to work with a robot.

      Though, honestly (and I'm 5'0" too) nothing is quite so useful as just crawling up and standing on the counters, imo. I suppose that when I'm 90 and arthritic I'll be looking for better answers.

      Or maybe they could give the robot arms like Bender's :)

  • Valerie, the domestic android is a better deal. (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday April 10, 2004 @07:31PM (#8827447)
    Valerie, the domestic android is a better deal.

    http://www.androidworld.com/prod19.htm [androidworld.com]

    It will be capable of washing dishes etc, and will cost only $59000.

  • Sponsored by Old Glory Insurance (Score:5, Funny)

    by Black Art ( 3335 ) on Saturday April 10, 2004 @07:32PM (#8827453)

    Here is one of their commercials [robotcombat.com]

    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.

  • Whoa! (Score:3, Funny)

    by whiteranger99x ( 235024 ) on Saturday April 10, 2004 @07:32PM (#8827454) Journal
    Jesus Christ!! That looks like my sister's old Teddy Ruxpin after it got beat to shit!! :O

  • $100,000 (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday April 10, 2004 @07:33PM (#8827458)
    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.

  • earth-shaterring? (Score:5, Funny)

    by Scrameustache ( 459504 ) on Saturday April 10, 2004 @07:33PM (#8827464) Homepage Journal
    seniors will explode in the next two decades

    Well, we'll save up on burial costs, but the clean up will be a bitch...
  • What elderly person wants to be looked after by a robot, unless it can help them with Euthenasia.

    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.

    • Re:What kind of logic is this?! (Score:5, Insightful)

      by bigberk ( 547360 ) <bigberk@users.pc9.org> on Saturday April 10, 2004 @07:37PM (#8827486)
      Elderly people in developing countries are lacking **human contact**
      Elderly people in the first world are lacking human contact! People throw their parents into homes and shrug them off until they're dead. In developing countries, families remain more close-knit and it's common to have the elderly parents living together with the family.
      • " in the first world"

        Duh,...I meant to write developed, not developing.

        As for old folks homes, I think the problem is thicker. In countries with "extended" family homes you have an environment with lots of people coming and going all day. In developed countries the suburban household of a nuclear family is unoccupied for large parts of the day. Old folks home make sense **if** they are well run and integrated into the community where family, grandchildren etc. live.

      • People throw their parents into homes and shrug them off until they're dead.

        They're called geriatric concentration camps. They give me the creeps.

        --Rob

    • Actually most elderly people try very hard to avoid other people's children and grandchildren. The noise is terrible, the actions are illogical, they always *need* something. Children are very disturbing to a peaceful life.
  • 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.

  • Hmmm (Score:3, Funny)

    by Hogwash McFly ( 678207 ) on Saturday April 10, 2004 @07:35PM (#8827475)
    The world's first 'gender challenged' [post-gazette.com] 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"
  • cute my ass. Robots with human faces strike me as creepy, and there are dozends of reasons why...

  • another door stop (Score:3, Funny)

    by Wellmont ( 737226 ) on Saturday April 10, 2004 @07:38PM (#8827488) Homepage
    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?

  • Will it be a pusher robot or a shover robot? (Score:4, Funny)

    by BitwizeGHC ( 145393 ) on Saturday April 10, 2004 @07:40PM (#8827507) Homepage
    Because we need to protect Grandma from the terrible secret of space. When she goes down the stairs, she will be protected.
  • 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.

  • pak chooie unf (Score:1, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward
    answer: items pushed - grandmother

    target - stairs

    it was that i did

    pak chooie

  • A matter of perspective (Score:4, Interesting)

    by imgumbydamnit ( 730663 ) on Saturday April 10, 2004 @07:49PM (#8827559)
    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.
    • I don't know about you, but most of my conversation on this topic revolve around "taking care of" the elderly in an entirely different sense. I'm still looking for a final solution, though.
    • Your absolutely right,

      The advances in wheelchairs;
      the stair crawling, and height adjusting capabilities especially, make it easier for disadvantaged folks (of any age) to get around.

      Regarding medicines and other "patient stats" - I would rather use a suite of sensors (heart/pressure/dryness etc) and have the monitoring computer inform the medical staff of differences.

      Finding tools and assistants to enchance existing skills is beneficial, but taking over is a step too far.

      In a similar vein, I am all for
  • They should merge some of this technology with that of QRIO. Especially since QRIO has amazing motion capabilities.
  • as well as a serious hard-drive crash last year

    Ahhhh, I've fallen! And I can't get up!

    --Rob

  • Medical Care (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Dan East ( 318230 ) on Saturday April 10, 2004 @08:04PM (#8827630) Journal
    So how is this thing supposed to determine if Granny is is a diabetic coma verses taking a sound nap?

    Dan East
  • "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.

  • boom! (Score:3, Funny)

    by cbr2702 ( 750255 ) on Saturday April 10, 2004 @08:17PM (#8827686) Homepage
    >> 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"?

  • what i wonder is if roland is paying off /. editors to get articles accepted!

    just kidding. 'nother interesting post on his blog...

  • Perl, the programming language for the certifiably insane.
  • I'm still waiting for inTouch health's remote presence [intouch-health.com] 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

  • The cost (Score:5, Insightful)

    by fermion ( 181285 ) on Saturday April 10, 2004 @08:40PM (#8827776) Homepage Journal
    I wonder if 100K for such a machine is so outlandish. There is a significant segment of the population, at least in the US, that have 70K cars. And they apparantly can afford to put in $40 dollars of gas every week. If a robot could be leased for 20k a year, there might be enough customers to support a small production.

    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.

    • Re:The cost (Score:1, Insightful)

      by Anonymous Coward
      In addition to the costs you name, assisted living facilities are very expensive. The robot would probably pay for itself in a few years.

  • Obligatory SNL Reference (Score:3, Funny)

    by Stonent1 ( 594886 ) <stonentNO@SPAMstonent.pointclark.net> on Saturday April 10, 2004 @08:52PM (#8827824) Journal
    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 [msn.com] 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
  • 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?

  • ...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 wreck

  • An aging world population? (Score:3, Funny)

    by BorgHunter ( 685876 ) on Saturday April 10, 2004 @09:06PM (#8827912)

    "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.

  • Pearl will protect you... from the terrible secret of space? [jonathonrobinson.com]

  • Question (Score:1, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward
    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?
  • 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 gre
  • I, for one, welcome our new Pearl Overlords.

    There should be a moderation category for "/. clichés"

  • Future support calls? (Score:5, Funny)

    by SlowMovingTarget ( 550823 ) on Saturday April 10, 2004 @09:50PM (#8828141) Homepage
    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

  • Exploding (Score:1, Redundant)

    by Craig Ringer ( 302899 )
    I, of course, read the summary as:
    A number of seniors will explode in the next two decades
  • 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!!!
  • $100,000 ass wiper?
  • #!/usr/bin/pearl
    use strict;

    warn "I'm gonna kiiiiil you",
    kill 'Lady',
    die "Old Lady", die, die
    cLive ;-)

  • Laws of Physics (Score:3, Funny)

    by e.m.rainey ( 91553 ) <`erik' `at' `rainey.name'> on Sunday April 11, 2004 @01:48AM (#8829010) Homepage
    "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 world population is aging rapidly

    Faster than one year per year? YIPES!

  • The world population is rapidly aging -- at least in developed countries. The number of seniors will explode in the next two decades.

    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

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