Assis$veRobo$cs:Mission
Improbable?
Whenwilltheybeavailableandaffordable?
PaulDoyle
Access,R&D,HerewardCollege
Coventry
Hereward….auniquecollege
•  Ageneralcollegeoffurthereduca$onwithspecialist
residen$alsupportforstudentswithdisabili$es,
openedin1971
•  Disabledandnondisabledstudents
•  Aged16to75+
•  FromUKandoverseas
•  Toprovideanintegrated,urbanalterna$vetorural,
discreteprovision
•  Provisionof22+specialistsupportservicesfor
disabledlearners
2
Students’SupportNeeds
•  Physicaldisabili$esinc.cerebralpalsy,spinabifida
andmusculardystrophy
•  Sensoryimpairments(blind/hearingimpaired)
•  Learningdifficul$es
•  Brainandspinalinjuries
•  Au$smandAsperger'sSyndrome
•  Medicaldifficul$esInc.epilepsy,asthma,rare
condi$ons
•  Social,emo$onalandbehaviouraldifficul$es
•  Manyofwhomneedanduse…
3
Assis$veTechnology
4
WhatisAssis$veTechnology
“Assis%veTechnology(AT)isany
productorservicedesignedto
enableindependencefordisabled
andolderpeople.”
(King'sFundconsulta%on,2001)
5
Yes…butwhatdoesitmean!
6
Andhowdowesayit?
Hereward’srela$onshipwith
Robo$cs!
Inthebeginning…
Hereward’srela$onshipwith
Robo$cs!
Students’percep$onsofrobo$cs
(AccordingtoHollywood!)
Whatwehavelearned
Versus
OverthepastdecadeHereward
studentshaveused,evaluatedor
consideredthefollowingdevices.
HandyOne
ProgrammableNeaterEater
Flexbot
Manus
SmartWheelchair
Jaco
Butwherearetherealrobots?
Stateoftheart(research)
Thisiswhatacademiadoes!
Isthisiswhatthemarketneeds?
Thecurrentpersonalrobotmarket
Whata“customer”lookslike!
Aninconvenienttruth!
Theemperorhasnoclotheson!
Buthemighthavejustgone
shopping!
Althoughtheremightbeanotherway!
"Digitalimmigrants"inother
countriescouldsoonguide
robotsaroundyourhouse”
(NewScien:st)
Ourchallenge!
Justathought!
TodaywhenIwashavinglunchinourrefectoryIobservedanumberofstudents(with
avarietyofphysicaldisabili:es)wai:nginanorderlyqueueforahumancarertohelp
feedthemtheirlunch:memeal.
Duetoashortageofcarerssomeofthestudentswaitedaverylong:mebeforea
staffmemberwasfreetoaskwhatthestudentwantedfromthemenu,pickedup
theirchosenmealfromthecounter,fedthestudentinanappropriatemanner(food
attherighttemperature,consistencyandrate)andcleanedupaFerthemeal.
Thissitua:onledmetopondertheques:ons;couldarobothavehelpedcarryout
thesetaskstosomedegree,andbearinginmindthecarestaffarepaidnotmuchover
minimumwage,when(ifever)willarobotalterna:vebeafinanciallyviable?
Thankyouforlistening
Ques$ons?
PaulDoyle
ACCESSResearchandDevelopmentManager,HerewardCollege
02476426100
[email protected]