First-of-its-kind humanoid robot deployed in nursing home to help patients with Alzheimer's

Humanoid robots have been deployed in a Minnesota nursing home to care for patients with early-stage Alzheimer's. These robots, developed by a team of researchers at the University of Minnesota, are equipped to assist individuals with their emotional, physical and cognitive health - are believed to be the first in the US to focus on caring for patients with dementia. 'I am extremely excited to be making history with my students by deploying humanoid robots in nursing homes to help care for our elderly,' said Arshia Khan, a professor of computer science at the University of Minnesota at Duluth's Swenson College of Science and Engineering. The humanoid robots are meant to provide a wide range of support and help patients who are experiencing early stage Alzheimer's. One robot is a two-foot-tall model called NAO, and the other one stands four feet and is known as Pepper - but Khan emphasizes that the machine's will supplement human workers rather than replace them.