HEALTH-CARE ROBOTICS GOES COMMERCIAL - THE HELPMATE EXPERIENCE

Even as the first industrial robot started earning its keep, researchers were dreaming of using robots in service jobs, intimately serving human mentors as Isaac Asimov would have had it. But that was not to be. Initially there was a paucity of appropriate technology. Then the barriers became economic and institutional. These barriers will be discussed to set the scene. The discussion then will focus on a spectrum of technology that has been channelled into a cost-effective commercial product. HelpMate(R) utilises an array of sensors and sensor fusion to succeed as a courier in multi-storeyed cluttered hospitals. Our advice for all researchers who would have robots serve in health care is: ''Get out into the real world as soon as you can.''