Robot to work at rest home

JOHN SELKIRK/Dominion Post

MECHANICAL MINDER: Bruce MacDonald, of Auckland University's Robotics Centre, with the robot being trialled in the care of the elderly.

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Meet "Charlie" the Korean robot, which will start work at Selwyn Retirement Village in Auckland today, monitoring residents' vital signs and giving them reminders.

The work placement has been arranged by Auckland University's Robotics Centre, established last year in partnership with Korea's Electronics and Telecommunications Research Unit, and founded with the help of a $1.8 million Government grant.

Bruce MacDonald, from the university's Electrical and Computer Engineering Department, hopes to find out how older people interact with the robot.

"We are going to show them some of the things a robot could do and we are interested in their feedback. Then we will modify the robot to adjust for those things."

The university has surveyed some residents and staff at the 330-bed rest home attached to the retirement village to find out what they are looking for in a hi-tech helper.

The consensus among residents: something silver, 1.25 metres tall and "middle-aged" that can detect falls, call for help, turn appliances on and off, make phone calls and do the heavy lifting.

Staff were keen on robots monitoring health conditions, issuing reminders and locking up at night – but not taking away their jobs.

Dr MacDonald says it was a surprise that older people wanted a robot that was "mechanical", more of an assistant and not too human-like. "I think that makes sense but it wasn't what we were expecting."

And what about the robots taking over?

"When they see it, people aren't scared," Dr MacDonald says. "But when they think about it and what could develop in the future...

"It is quite unknown what robots will end up doing, and because of all the things people see on television and in films they think there are lots of possibilities."

Announcing the Robotics Centre's grant last year, then science minister Pete Hodgson forecast the collaboration with Korea could help New Zealand companies capture several hundred million dollars in exports from a global market worth "several billion US dollars".

Charlie's Vital Statistics

* 1.1 metres high, 45 kilograms

* Top speed 3.6 kilometres an hour

* Battery life 3 hours.

* Charging time 3 hours from docking station it can locate

* Commercial Stargazer navigation system, using ceiling markers

* Camera and a range of sensors for detecting obstacles Voice synthesiser and basic voice recognition Wireless internet

* Two onboard computers – Linux for hardware control and Windows for the user interface.

* 10.4 inch touch screen and remote control