May 12, 2004
The Doctor is in the Robot
This article is more about telepresence than about robotics, but it is interesting none-the-less. Patients surveyed found that they preferred to see their own doctors on-screen on-robot, rather than someone they were unfamiliar with. It is an unusual study, but I think we are going to see more of this in the future.
Posted by elkaim at May 12, 2004 10:52 AMThe 200-pound (90-kilogram) robots stand about 5 feet (1.5 meters) tall. They have flat video screens for heads, and video cameras serve as their eyes and ears.
Using a joystick, a doctor can operate the rounding robot to check on patients from another building or another country, via the Internet and wireless links.
The doctor's face appears on the robot's screen, and he or she interacts with the patient through the real-time video hookup.
The aim of the technology isn't to replace human doctors, but to make it more convenient for doctors to check in with their patients, and for patients to get quick access to personal physicians who aren't at the hospital.