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'Huggable' is a Robot Teddy That Helps Comfort Hospitalized Children
Katherine Pendrill — June 9, 2015 — Tech
References: robotic.media.mit.edu & nytimes
'Huggable' is an adorable robot teddy designed to alleviate the anxiety, pain and isolation faced by many children in the hospital. Huggable is essentially a remote-operated puppet that is capable of chatting and playing with patients. The robot was designed by M.I.T.’s Media Lab and the bear is currently being tested at Boston Children’s Hospital to determine the level of therapeutic value such robotic toys can have on children who are faced with lengthy hospital stays.
To determine the value of Huggable, researchers split a group of 90 children into three groups. The first group was allowed to interact with Huggable, the second group viewed an image of the robot on a tablet and the final group was given a regular plush bear. Each child was equipped with a bracelet that would measure their emotional state and any physiological changes observed.
While the data is still in the early stages of analysis, research has already shown that the robot teddy may be influential in improving a child's emotional health and physical recovery. For pediatric hospitals around the world, Huggable could prove to be a revolutionary breakthrough in therapeutic technology.
To determine the value of Huggable, researchers split a group of 90 children into three groups. The first group was allowed to interact with Huggable, the second group viewed an image of the robot on a tablet and the final group was given a regular plush bear. Each child was equipped with a bracelet that would measure their emotional state and any physiological changes observed.
While the data is still in the early stages of analysis, research has already shown that the robot teddy may be influential in improving a child's emotional health and physical recovery. For pediatric hospitals around the world, Huggable could prove to be a revolutionary breakthrough in therapeutic technology.
Trend Themes
1. Therapeutic Robots - The development of therapeutic robots is an opportunity for the healthcare industry to revolutionize patient care and treatment by improving patients' emotional health and physical recovery.
2. Remote-operated Robots - Remote-operated robots, such as Huggable, have the potential to revolutionize the way patients interact with healthcare professionals, providing a more engaging and interactive experience that could improve patient outcomes.
3. Robot-assisted Therapy - The use of robot-assisted therapy is an emerging trend in healthcare that has the potential to transform the patient experience, improve treatment outcomes, and increase the efficiency of healthcare delivery.
Industry Implications
1. Healthcare - With the potential to revolutionize patient care and treatment, therapeutic robots offer a disruptive innovation opportunity for the healthcare industry to improve outcomes and increase operational efficiency.
2. Education - The development of robot-assisted therapy programs presents a compelling opportunity for the education industry to utilize new technologies and improve learning experiences for children.
3. Entertainment - The use of remote-operated robot toys that can interact with children has the potential to revolutionize the toy industry by providing a more engaging and interactive experience that can improve children's emotional health and wellbeing.
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