What was once thought of as a creative way to help children who suffered traumatic experiences has gone terribly awry in the eyes of some tech writers within the blogosphere. This fuzzy robotic playmate was originally designed to give children an emotional boost, but its finished product has left some puzzled.
What's wrong with real life and real interaction with children? Kids don’t need this, they need real friendship, in my opinion.
The children in this photo don’t look particularly happy, and may may need some help to sleep at night after this scary scenario. The robot was created by two teams at the University of Brussels and the Anty group; it was also funded by Bill Gates.
Menacing Robot Muppets
Does This Belgian Probo Miss the Mark As a Kids' Toy?
Trend Themes
1. Emotional Robotics - There is an opportunity to create more effective emotional support robots for children that are safe and appealing.
2. Human-computer Interaction - There is an opportunity to explore better ways of human-robot communication and interaction.
3. Critiquing Robotics Ethics - There is an opportunity for continuous assessment of the ethics behind robotics designs, to ensure that they are not alienating their users.
Industry Implications
1. Healthcare - Emotional robotics could be applied to healthcare to assist with patient support and comfort.
2. Education - Human-Computer Interaction opportunities could be applied to Education to enhance education delivery methods.
3. Robotics Design - The need for ethical assessments provide opportunities for robotics designers/developers to learn and adapt to the ethics surrounding their designs.