Jennie the artificial intelligence-powered robotic dog is designed to provide comfort and companionship to those with mental health challenges. U.S. robotics company Tombot has introduced Jennie, an innovative AI-powered robotic pet designed to provide comfort and companionship to those facing cognitive health challenges. This groundbreaking creation is set to transform the lives of millions struggling with dementia, mild cognitive impairment and various mental health issues. Jennie's inception stems from a personal tragedy experienced by Tombot CEO Tom Stevens. When his mother, Nancy, was diagnosed with Alzheimer's, the family had to make the heart-wrenching decision to rehome her beloved dog, Golden Bear.

Dog guides are favored by blind and low-vision (BLV) individuals for their ability to enhance independence and confidence by reducing safety concerns and increasing navigation efficiency compared to traditional mobility aids. However, only a relatively small proportion of BLV individuals work with dog guides due to their limited availability and associated maintenance responsibilities. There is considerable recent interest in addressing this challenge by developing legged guide dog robots. This study was designed to determine critical aspects of the handler-guide dog interaction and better understand handler needs to inform guide dog robot development. We conducted semi-structured interviews and observation sessions with 23 dog guide handlers and 5 trainers. Thematic analysis revealed critical limitations in guide dog work, desired personalization in handler-guide dog interaction, and important perspectives on future guide dog robots. Grounded on these findings, we discuss pivotal design insights for guide dog robots aimed for adoption within the BLV community.

It can get lonely living on your own, especially when you've got a landlord that doesn't allow pets or roommates. PiBo is built with service in mind. It can act as an alarm clock, recount the day's weather and top news stories, play music, take pictures and remind you of upcoming appointments. Its functionality is easily expanded to include home security integration, voice and facial recognition and more thanks to a dedicated app store. You can even code your own programs and features if have the skills. PiBo itself can be controlled through voice commands, QR-embedded flash cards, or through its associated dashboard app (available for both iOS and Android).

People's interactions with machines, from robots that throw tantrums when they lose a colour-matching game against a human opponent to the bionic limbs that could give us extra abilities, are not just revealing more about how our brains are wired – they are also altering them. Emily Cross is a professor of social robotics at the University of Glasgow in Scotland who is examining the nature of human-robot relationships and what they can tell us about human cognition. She defines social robots as machines designed to engage with humans on a social level – from online chatbots to machines with a physical presence, for example, those that check people into hotel rooms. According to Prof. Cross, as robots can be programmed to perform and replicate specific behaviours, they make excellent tools for shedding light on how our brains work, unlike humans, whose behaviour varies. 'The central tenets to my questions are, can we use human-robot interaction to better understand the flexibility and fundamental mechanisms of social cognition and the human brain,' she said.

KOCHI: Sastra Robotics, a Kochi-based robotics company specialised in the manufacturing of industrial robotic manipulators, is on cloud nine. Reason: It has recently bagged the prestigious'TiE50 Awards' - TiE Silicon Valley's annual awards programme keenly contested by thousands of early-stage technology startups worldwide. The journey Founded by three college mates - Aronin P (CEO), Achu Wilson (CTO) and Akhil A (COO) - the journey of this tech startup began in 2012 from the Startup Village in Kochi. With its vision to develop next generation robotic companion for human beings, Sastra Robotics is currently engaged in the development of robotic manipulators for device test automation deployed by Robert Bosch, HCL and Audience. Growth From the three-member core team, the company has grown big and the staff strength now stands at 17. Recently, it has opened in Kochi a first-of-its-kind'Robotics R&D and testing facility' in the country. "Currently over 100 companies in India have evinced interest in the solutions being provided by us.

A baby seal robot called PARO has played a prominent role in animal therapy in hospitals and senior citizens homes in Japan and Europe since 2003. PARO has become the darling of many a patient successfully replacing live animals If demand of social robots like PARO was to increase, the robot-human interactions will expand social and cultural communication patterns. With the advances in robotics and affective computing, the relationship between robots and humans in society is changing. The combination of context-awareness, motoric skills and affective behaviour opens a wide field for robotic assistants or even robotic companions. Films like WALL-E (2008) or Her (2013) show that robots or artificial intelligence are no longer just means to an end but start to be seen as cultural entities.

As we continue to chart the evolution of humanoid robots, humanity seems to be bypassing ethics over practicality. Robots already have advanced to a point that is leading to serious concern about the economic impact of humans being outsourced to robots for tasks as diverse as service, manufacturing, nursing, housework, yard maintenance and full-fledged agricultural duties. Some are predicting that robots of all types could fully replace humans by 2045. Meanwhile, humanoid robots filled with the latest artificial intelligence could lead to the outsourcing of future soldiers, leading to the literal possibility of robot wars. All of this is occurring as ethicists, governments and citizens scramble to make sense of exactly what type of future we should be looking forward to, and if any boundaries to this type of progress need to be made universal.

The rolling robot BB-8 captivated moviegoers as it helped save the day in the 2016 film "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" -- though even the most die-hard fan would admit that we aren't likely to see a real-world robot quite like that in the near future. However, there's another spherical, programmable, rolling robot currently in development that's capable of doing important work to engage children with special needs, particularly children on the autism spectrum. Described by its designers as "a robotic companion," the roly-poly Leka robot is shaped like a ball, has an endearing "face" that changes expressions, and uses sound, light and colors to interact with users through customizable games that improve cognitive and motor skills. Caregivers and educators can program the toy to guide children with developmental disabilities through a range of activities, helping them to improve communication and learn to connect with their environment and with others around them. For children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), connecting with others and interpreting social cues can be enormously challenging.

Most discussions of "robot rights" play out in a seemingly distant, science-fictional future. While skeptics roll their eyes, advocates argue that technology will advance to the point where robots deserve moral consideration because they are "just like us," sometimes referencing the movie Blade Runner. Blade Runner depicts a world where androids have human-like emotions and develop human-like relationships to the point of being indistinguishable from people. But Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, the novel on which the film is based, contains a small, significant difference in storyline. In the book, the main character falls in love with an android that only pretends to requite his feelings.

The overall, long-term goal of our research is to develop a The following is a concrete scenario we will use to motivate fully animated robotic companion for home healthcare that our platform for home healthcare and related STEM research.