TOOLBOXBROWSE TOPICS
RESOURCESABOUT THIS SITEpmwiki.org |
(a subtopics of Applications)
 "We are in the midst of a profound demographic shift, moving from a world in which the majority of the population is relatively young to one in which a significant proportion of people are over the age of 65. This change poses both a challenge and an opportunity for the design of intelligent technology." "[T]he current capabilities of many AI systems closely match some of the specialized needs of disabled people.... Fortunately, there is a growing interest in applying the scientific knowledge and engineering experience developed by AI researchers to the domain of assistive technology and in investigating new methods and techniques that are required within the assistive technology domain." "Researchers in artificial intelligence today are beginning a race to offset an epidemic of age-related memory loss. Barring a cure, 14 million Americans will develop Alzheimer's Disease by 2050, according to the National Institute on Aging. Scientists in the emerging field of assisted cognition are designing AI systems to care for Alzheimer's patient without any direct human assistance." And so begins Mark Baard's June 24, 2002 article for Wired News, AI to Assist Alzheimer's Patients, which is but one of many stories about AI's contribution to assitive technologies. More articles appear below, and still more are just over the horizon . . .
Providing for Older Adults Using Smart Environment Technologies. By Diane J. Cook. IEEE-USA Today's Engineer (May 2007). "Can the technology sector help older adults live independently at home? A solution may be found in health-assistive technologies. Convergence of technologies in pervasive computing, artificial intelligence, and sensor networks is now making smart environments a reality, and this technology can tremendously impact and facilitate the desire of adults to age in place. We define a smart environment as an intelligent agent that is able to acquire and apply knowledge about the environment and its residents in order to improve their quality of life in that environment [fn]. Physical implementations of these smart environments can be found in projects such as MavHome, the Gator Tech Smart House, the iDorm, the Georgia Tech Award Home, the Adaptive Home, and the Home Depot Smart Home." Artificially intelligent homes for Alzheimer's patients coming: scientists. CBC News (January 25, 2007). "Scientists in Toronto are developing an artificial intelligence system that would help people with Alzheimer's disease or other cognitive impairments live safely at home.The Toronto Rehabilitation Institute is working with University of Toronto researchers to make home-based computer systems that would assist elderly people with memory loss in living independently. ... [L]ead scientist Alex Mihailidis said in a written statement. 'We are using artificial intelligence to support aging-in-place so that people can remain in their homes for as long as possible.' ... The researchers have also created a home emergency alert system that uses ceiling-mounted cameras linked to computers running image analysis software to determine whether a person has fallen down. It would then ask whether he or she needs help and use a voice-recognition system to process a response. ... The researchers say they are the first in the world to test home-based artificial intelligence systems in clinical trials."
SENIOR project initiates ethical debate on ICT for the elderly. CORDIS News (March 5, 2008). "Dubbed Assistive Technologies (AT), these technologies aim to improve the day-to-day activities of the elderly, as well as people with disabilities, to supplement their loss of independence. However, while they hold great promise on the one hand, these technologies can also run the risk of further isolating the these population groups. ‘Technology can alleviate the burden of dependency by allowing people to live autonomously at home or in an assisted environment,’ Professor [Emilio] Mordini told CORDIS News. ‘Yet technology can also seriously threaten people's autonomy and dignity,’ he added. For these reasons the project will aim to provide a systematic assessment of the social, ethical and privacy issues involved in ICT and ageing. … Surveillance technology is just one area which is likely to undergo rigorous assessment by the project consortium." Devices help the blind cross tech divide. By Michael Singer. CNET News.com (October 5, 2005). "Jerry Swerdlick runs a 15-employee company that resells computers and devices that aid people with visual, hearing, learning and other physical disabilities. Business is really booming these days, Swerdlick said, as more and more manufacturers are building so-called assistive technology gadgets to address a wide range of special needs groups. ... Swerdlick's EVAS is part of a $5.4 billion assistive technology industry, according to the Smithsonian Institution. That's nearly double market estimates six years ago. The market itself is broad. Some of the devices that are becoming increasingly common include Braille-based handheld devices with text-to-speech technology, tactile keyboards with oversize characters, and pointing devices that control PCs with a movement of an eyebrow. An aging population in industrialized countries combined with a government effort to satisfy more special needs groups is lighting a fire under this industry, which adds 10 to 20 new companies every year, Assistive Technology Industry Association (ATIA) executive director David Dikter said. ... Some recent product examples include: ... " 'Nana tech' aimed at the elderly. An interactive article by Janet Kornblum. USATODAY.com (August 9, 2006). "From pillboxes that remind patients to take medicine to walkers that come when called, a new wave of technology is designed to meet the needs of the aging." New Bionic Leg Shows Promise for Amputees (television broadcast). Fox 5 News | MyFox Atlanta (February 6, 2007). "It uses artificial intelligence and the latest technology. For amputees, it may be the biggest breakthrough in decades. A new bionic leg is being called the future of prosthetics. Click video [link in the text] for more information." Intelligent Technology for an Aging Population: The Use of AI to Assist Elders with Cognitive Impairment. By Martha E. Pollack. AI Magazine 26(2): Summer 2005, 9–24. "Today, approximately 10 percent of the world’s population is over the age of 60; by 2050 this proportion will have more than doubled. Moreover, the greatest rate of increase is amongst the 'oldest old,' people aged 85 and over. While many older adults remain healthy and productive, overall this segment of the population is subject to physical and cognitive impairment at higher rates than younger people. This article surveys new technologies that incorporate artificial intelligence techniques to support older adults and help them cope with the changes of aging, in particular with cognitive decline." Domestic bliss through mechanical marvels? By Kevin Maney. USA Today (September 1, 2004). "Never mind the humanoid Automated Domestic Assistants walking rich people's pets in the movie I, Robot, or the accordion-armed Robot B9 in TV classic Lost in Space warning of danger on lonely planets. The real force driving the development of personal robots -- and what will eventually create demand for them in the marketplace -- is aging baby boomers. That's the secret among robotics researchers and budding robot companies. As the horde of boomers become old, they increasingly will be unable to care for themselves or their homes. They'll face a social and medical system straining to help them. But they'll be comfortable with technology. " Baby Boomers at the Gate - Enhancing Independence Through Innovation and Technology. Statement of Dr. Gregory Abowd. Hearing - The U. S. Senate Senate Special Committee on Aging (May 20, 2003). "The role of technology in enhancing the lives of older but otherwise healthy Americans is not well understood or appreciated. I will try to demonstrate some of the possibilities for technology that are being explored in research environments today. ... I will review a variety of technologies that have been developed to support the independence and security of an aging population in a variety of living environments. The categories of technology we consider are: * assistive devices that compensate for motor, sensory or cognitive difficulties; * monitor and response systems, both for emergency response to crisis situations and for early warning for less critical and emerging problems; * and social communication aids."  Automation as Caregiver: The Role of Intelligent Technology in Elder Care, an AAAI-02 workshop. "An unprecedented boom in the elderly population will hit all industrialized nations and many other countries over the next 30 years. The number of people in the U.S. over the age of 65 will double from 34.7 million now to 69.4 million by 2030 [AOA, 1998]. ... By bringing together researchers from robotics, artificial intelligence and human factors, this workshop will help foster a coordinated solution for automation as caregiver for the elderly. ... Specific technologies that support one or more of these areas include robotics, computer vision, speech understanding, knowledge representation, planning, machine learning, situation assessment, task tracking, agents, software architectures and human computer/robot interfaces." Papers from the workshop can be found in AAAI Technical Report WS-02-02. Technology and Persons with Disabilities Conference materials from the Center On Disabilities at California State University, Northridge. Scroll down their page to the section titled "Conference Services" and you'll find links to several collections of conference proceedings as well as a link to the current conference page. Summary of the AAAI Fall 1996 Symposium on Developing Assistive Technology for People with Disabilities. By Holly Yanco. AI Magazine 18(1): Spring 1997, 125-127.) "Assistive technology is a growing field within the AI community. Some work in assistive technology can be viewed as an intermediate step to a full AI system; the inclusion of a human in the cognitive loop can allow solutions to be found for problems that have been unsolved until now. In addition, researchers in this area can see their research improving the lives of others. ... Symposium participants are conducting research in many different areas, including sign language translators, robotic wheelchairs, eye-tracking interfaces, assistive robots for the elderly and mobility impaired, and language aids." Seniors Need Robots And New Technology To Help At Home. By Ellen Beck. United Press International / available from SpaceDaily (April 27, 2004). "Elder advocates from academia and industry urged Congress on Tuesday to fund research and nudge reluctant companies to re-imagine existing technologies to help seniors live high-quality, independent lives. 'Our biggest problem nationally is an imagination problem, not a technology problem,' Eric Dishman, director of Proactive Health Research for Intel Corp., of Hillsboro, Ore., told the Senate Special Committee on Aging. 'There are hundreds of technologies sitting in the labs of American universities and technology companies today that could save billions of dollars in our nation's healthcare bill, if we could only focus some of our nation's ... innovation and investment dollars on the needs of our aging population.' ... Dishman said some companies have told him they do not want their brand associated with the aging demographic. Also, researchers complain elder-tech projects fall through the cracks of existing government-sponsored research and developers are afraid of being sued. Such barriers, real or perceived, pervade technology development. Martha Pollack, a professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, testified that advanced technology should not replace but supplement human caregivers in the home. For example, her team has developed a device that helps seniors remember to eat or take medicines. It is a 'glorified alarm clock' that does more than sound an alarm on schedule. She said the device, called an auto-minder, can recognize when a person is eating and then simply note that they should the medication they need to take with meals. Another device, called Coach, developed by Canadian researchers, will guide a senior through a single activity -- such as hand washing -- by giving cues to each step in the process, Pollack explained. ... [Joseph] Coughlin said assistive technology is crucial for baby boomers who are searching for solutions to help them care for aging parents. There is a $29-billion-a-year loss in productivity to business and industry because of time away from the job needed by workers to care for aging parents, he said."
"Assets is ACM's annual series of conferences sponsored by SIGACCESS." The Proceedings of the ACM SIGACCESS conference on Computers and accessibility are available from the ACM Portal. There is no charge to access the tables of contents and abstracts. Mitsubishi robot seen as family friend. The Associated Press / available from The Japan Times (February 5, 2003). "Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. unveiled a robot Tuesday that it claims will become a future house-sitter, caretaker, nurse and family friend. Wakamaru, a 1-meter-tall, camera-equipped robot, features voice- and face-recognition capabilities, allowing it to search for and follow voices, faces and gestures. ... The robot has been programmed to ask questions, including: 'You're home late. What have you been up to?' It can also be programmed to store and 'remember' the side effects of certain medications."  Computerized Control Is Next for Artificial Limbs. By Ian Austen. The New York Times (January 3, 2002). "The C-Leg is, in effect, a wearable computer, although Otto Bock and other prosthetic-device makers avoid the phrase. Beneath its carbon fiber composite shell are two microprocessors that receive data from a string of sensors at a rate of 50 times a second. The processors' sophisticated software coordinates a mechanical and hydraulic system that allows the leg to switch seamlessly from a rigid position that supports the user's weight to a relaxed position that allows the user to walk in a way that closely imitates a natural gait." Tech for Elders Must Have Purpose. By Mark Baard. Wired News (February 24, 2003). "Seniors will accept newfangled gadgets, as long as they come in familiar packages. The key, researchers say, is to make assistive technologies easy to use and familiar." The Age of Assisted Cognition. By Mark Baard. Wired News (August 15, 2002). "Pervasive computing's earliest adapters will be old people, according to medical experts and AI gurus at a conference here hosted by Intel Research. Speakers at 'Computing, Cognition and Caring for Future Elders' discussed infrared badges that track patients, mirrors that spot suspicious moles, accelerometers that detect falls, and computers that remind the incontinent to visit the toilet at regular intervals." AI to Assist Alzheimer's Patients. By Mark Baard. Wired News (June 24, 2002). See excerpt in the introduction at the top of this page, and also see a related web site. Gadgets help baby boomers navigate old age. By Fred Bayles. USA Today (November 17, 2003). "Now, with a boomer turning 50 every seven seconds, researchers and marketers are developing everything from simple gadgets to complex computer systems to ease a generation into old age." Caring Machines: AI in Eldercare: Papers from the 2005 Fall Symposium, ed. Timothy Bickmore. Technical Report FS-05-02. American Association for Artificial Intelligence, Menlo Park, California.
Device warns you if you're boring or irritating. By Celeste Biever. New Scientist (March 29, 2006; Issue 2545: page 30). "A device that can pick up on people's emotions is being developed to help people with autism relate to those around them. ... The 'emotional social intelligence prosthetic' device, which [Rana] El Kaliouby is constructing along with MIT colleagues Rosalind Picard and Alea Teeters, consists of a camera small enough to be pinned to the side of a pair of glasses, connected to a hand-held computer running image recognition software plus software that can read the emotions these images show. If the wearer seems to be failing to engage his or her listener, the software makes the hand-held computer vibrate. ... Her program is based on a machine-learning algorithm that she trained by showing it more than 100 8-second video clips of actors expressing particular emotions. ... Timothy Bickmore of Northeastern University in Boston, who studies ways in which computers can be made to engage with people's emotions, says the device would be a great teaching aid."
Canada invests in engineer's smart technology. PR story from Bloorview MacMillan Children's Centre, an academic health science centre affiliated with the University of Toronto. "Tom Chau is finding ways to circumvent these disabilities, bringing together intelligent computer chips and software to interpret the communicative intent behind a critically ill child’s eye blinks or hand gestures, or recognize unique throat vibrations that signal the onset of aspiration, prompting parents to intervene. In fact, this biomedical engineer at Bloorview MacMillan -- just awarded a Canada Research Chair in pediatric rehabilitation engineering at the University of Toronto -- is finding countless ways to use smart technology to enrich the lives of children affected by disability. His goal? 'To place the onus for adaptation on technology, instead of the child, so that the technology fits the child and evolves as the child’s needs and function evolve.' ... Tom’s rehab devices are unique because they adapt to a child’s abilities and environment 'on the fly' - in the same way that artificial intelligence equips web sites to learn and respond to a customer’s preferences. 'Their distinguishing property is that they can self-organize on their own,' Tom explains." Older people could get 'virtual friends' to prevent loneliness. British Computer Society (BCS) press release (March 28, 2007). "Around 50 forms of help - ranging from motion-activated lights to a fully-fledged robotic companion who could advise, interact and even entertain older people - could be the solution to the care burden predicted in years to come, Dr Kevin Doughty, deputy director of York University's Centre for Usable Home Technology told members of the BCS's specialist Northern health informatics group." Bionic leg a step in right direction. By Dawn Calleja. Toronto Star (June 21, 2004). "Conventional prostheses don't move on their own; amputees must essentially pull them along, which can be exhausting and painful. But one month after his surgery, [Simon] Bouchard read about Victhom in the newspaper. The company, based outside Quebec City, was conducting clinical trials on a new prosthesis for above-the-knee amputees. In June 2003, Bouchard volunteered. ... Victhom's leg moves on its own. Sensors strapped to the amputee's 'sound' leg, along with a network of sensors on the plastic-and-carbon-fibre device itself, relay messages via radio frequency to an artificial intelligence module inside the knee. Embedded software and predictive algorithms process data like stance, pressure and speed, interpret the amputee's intention and then the leg, powered by a small motor inside the knee, moves accordingly. 'The AI (artificial intelligence) is able to interpret what the amputee wants to do in real time,' says [Stephane] Bedard. Not only does the leg offer wider range of movement, but it also reduces fatigue, friction and back pain." Generating Text from Compressed Input: An Intelligent Interface for People with Severe Motor Impairments. By Patrick W. Demasco and Kathleen F. McCoy. Appears in Communications of the ACM, May 1992, Vol. 35, No.5 (1992) and made available by one of the authors. Intel creating smart system to keep old folks at home - Technology gives more independence to those suffering cognitive decline. By Gail El Baroudi. The Globe and Mail (January 16, 2003). "The smart-home system is a joint project of the Proactive Health Research Project, which was launched in April, and Intel Research Seattle. It includes leading-edge technologies, some of which are being tested in the homes of volunteers. ... All these sensors simply collect data. It is the home PC's artificial intelligence (AI) technologies that have the challenging job of translating all the raw sensor network data into meaningful information about the normal activities that go on in the home and then deciding if there are meaningful deviations from that norm. 'For example, if a person forgot to take their medication on time, there will be a reminder -- maybe a voice, or a buzz and written reminder from a personal digital assistant, such as a Palm Pilot,' Prof. Fauchet says. The purpose of these 'assisted cognition systems' is to enable aging adults to stay in their own homes longer, to retain their independence and to care for themselves, he says."
The emotional hearing aid - an assistive tool for autism. By Rana El Kaliouby and Peter Robinson, University of Cambridge Computer Laboratory. In HCI International 2003. Abstract: "The ability to read the mind from the face is a cornerstone for the development of social functions and emotional intelligence in humans. People diagnosed with autism are thought to lack or have an impairment in those representational set of abilities. As a result they have difficulties operating in our highly complex social environment, and are for the most part, unable to understand other people s emotions. In this paper, we present the emotional hearing aid, an assistive tool designed for people diagnosed with a mild form of autism Asperger s Syndrome. The application is implemented as an affective facial-expression recognition system, and is designed to operate on spontaneous human expression. Finally, we propose a tentative hardware and interface design, and discuss how the emotional hearing aid would be used in a typical social scenario." 'Laura' makes digital health coaching personal. By Catherine Elton. The Boston Globe (May 21, 2007). "As a computer scientist, one wouldn't expect Timothy Bickmore to concern himself with making sure that schizophrenics take their medications or the elderly get enough exercise. But that's where Laura comes in. Laura, a computer-generated character, raises and knits her eyebrows, nods her head ever so gently, and almost seems to sigh as she commiserates with a patient over how challenging it is to remember to take pills or get out for a walk. A virtual health coach, she asks questions of patients and responds empathetically and encouragingly to their answers. Bickmore's creation of Laura puts this Northeastern University professor at the forefront of growing attempts to build technology to help people stick to health regimens and increase the flow of information between health care providers and patients."
A sense of security. The Engineer Online (January 30, 2007). "An intelligent sensing system will use wireless technology, GPS and a suite of sensors for real-time monitoring of independent elderly people at home. The €1.85m (£1.2m) EU-funded Complete Ambient Assisted Living Experiment (CAALYX) project will develop and test a light, mobile device to monitor a number of vital signs and transmit the information to an intelligent data-logging system. ... Limerick University is to develop the fall detection accelerometers, which will also be able to predict falls. Most fall sensors use cameras that must first learn a person's 'normal' movements to be effective. These new sensors will be able to predict falls just before they happen and be adaptable enough for use anywhere so will give the wearer a greater degree of confidence even outside the home, said [Dr Maged] Boulos. ... The device will use algorithms that can pick up on any dangerous change in the person's vital signs or if one of the sensor feeds falls outside of acceptable parameters. If this occurs the system locates his or her position using GPS then triggers an alarm to alert the emergency services."
Automation as Caregiver: The Role of Intelligent Technology in Elder Care: Papers from the AAAI Workshop, ed. Karen Haigh. Technical Report WS-02-02. American Association for Artificial Intelligence, Menlo Park, California.
Monitoring Mom - As population matures, so do assisted-living technologies. By Gregory T. Huang. Technology Review (July/August 2003). "It's all part of a growing effort at Intel and other labs around the country to develop ways to help the elderly, and others who need assistance with everyday activities. Similar systems are in the works to monitor eating, sleeping, and medication habits in order to allow older people to live independently for longer. Researchers are even working on systems that analyze changes in behavioral patterns over time to provide early warning of aging diseases such as Alzheimer's." In gadget-loving Japan, robots get hugs in therapy sessions. By Yuri Kageyama. Associated Press / available from The San Diego Union-Tribune & SignOnSanDiego.com (April 10, 2004). "The elderly patients suffer from severe dementia, but their faces light up when they see the dog-shaped robot, swaddled in soft clothing, waddle around the hospital floor. ... This is one in a budding series of robot-therapy sessions at Japanese hospitals and senior citizens' homes. To some scientists, robots are the answer to caring for aging societies in Japan and other nations where the young are destined to be overwhelmed by a surging elderly population." The Future of Intelligent Technology and Its Impact on Disabilities. Speaker's Corner column by Ray Kurzweil. Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness (October 2003; Volume 97, Number 10). "By 2010, computers will disappear. ... For people who are hearing impaired, we will have systems that provide subtitles around the world. We're getting close to the point where speaker-independent speech recognition will become common. ... We will also have listening systems that will allow deaf persons to understand what people are saying. For people who are blind, we will have reading machines within a few years that are not just sitting on a desk, but are tiny devices you put in your pocket. ... We are going to enhance our own intelligence by getting closer and closer to machine intelligence -- and that's already happening. There are many people walking around now who are essentially cyborgs and have computers in their brains interfacing with their biological neurons. The Food and Drug Administration just approved a neural implant for Parkinson's disease that replaces the portion of the brain destroyed by that disease."
Robot care bears for the elderly. By J. Mark Lytle. BBC (February 21, 2002). "The sleepy town of Kourien on the outskirts of Osaka in western Japan is home to the world's first hi-tech retirement home. The 106-bed facility run by Matsushita Electrics, called Sincere Kourien, features robot bears whose sole purpose is to watch over the elderly residents. The bears monitor patients' response times to spoken questions. They record how long they spend performing various tasks, before relaying conclusions to staff or alerting them to unexpected changes. The voice recognition interface helps remove the barriers presented by using traditional computers for similar tasks. ... initial feedback has been encouraging, with most of residents developing an affinity to the bear."
Assistive Technology and Artificial Intelligence: Applications in Robotics, User Interfaces and Natural Language Processing. Vibhu O. Mittal, Holly A Yanco, John Aronis, and Richard Simpson, Editors. 1998. Berlin: Springer-Verlag. Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence #1458. Home care goes high-tech. By Peter Muggeridge. 50Plus.com (August 2, 2007). "Technological advances like ASIMO could solve many of tomorrow's caregiving problems. In the next 20 years, Canada is going to see the number of over-65s more than double, reaching almost 10 million by 2025. Many of these folks are going to be relatively healthy and independent – able to live at home with only minimal home-care assistance. But will our home-care system be able to provide care for even their minor needs? Judging by the current system's inability to cope with its present caseload, how will it possibly function when the number of seniors doubles? That's why it's so important that the innovations coming from the technology revolution are applied to the societal issues arising from the upsurge in longevity. Spurred on by advances in the Internet, artificial intelligence and robotic technology, many high-tech products are being developed that could one day find their way into seniors' homes. Not only will they allow seniors to remain out of nursing homes but they will also allow medical professionals and family members to look after their needs from a distance. ... Here are some high-tech products that might one day allow seniors to age gracefully at home. Some are currently available while others are in the design state. ... Intelligent Wheelchair: Currently in the design stage, its creators hope this Canadian-designed wheelchair will allow elderly disabled patients to get about without assistance. Using artificial intelligence and infrared sensors, the intelligent wheelchair will be able to navigate dwelling spaces without bumping into objects and be able to squeeze through narrow hallways and doorways. ... QuietCare Home Health Security System ... It tracks habits such as wake-up time, bathroom usage, meal preparation and medication usage. The sensors can determine if the patient does not get out of bed at a specified time, if the house is too hot or cold, if the person does not exit the bathroom within a specified time or if they prepared a meal that day." Men all ears as health technology gets hearing. The Northern Daily Leader & tamworth.yourguide (June 16, 2004). "A revolutionary hearing aid was just one of a number of new technological exhibits on show at the Men's Health Expo in Tamworth yesterday to coincide with Men's Health Week. The hearing aid allows the person wearing it to focus on a specific conversation more clearly while drowning out any other noises in the room. It has been designed to select the best speech over noise using parallel processing through a new concept called syncro. ... Spokesman James Battersby for Oticon, which manufactures the hearing aid, said ... 'It's design has been created by using artificial intelligence and allows the wearer to cancel out up to four different noises simultaneously.'"
Autominder: An Intelligent Cognitive Orthotic System for People with Memory Impairment. By M. E. Pollack, L. Brown, D. Colbry, C. E. McCarthy, C. Orosz, B. Peintner, S. Ramakrishnan, and I. Tsamardinos. 2003. Robotics and Autonomous Systems, 44(3-4):273-282. This and other papers can be accessed from the Intelligent Cognitive Orthotics project page. Robots May Be Built as Companions, Expert Says. By John Roach. National Geographic News (May 19, 2003). "'I have felt for years that the first 'killer application' of personal robots will be companionship, especially for the elderly,' said Roger Brockett, a professor of computer science and engineering at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. 'Robots are potentially much smarter than dogs and they will not require the same level of upkeep.' Brockett, who founded the Harvard Robotics Laboratory in 1983, is one of several scientists who believe robots will some day be a part of everyday life. They may be companions and helpers in much the same way that C-3PO and R2-D2 chum around with Luke Skywalker on the silver screen." Imagining a bionic future - Research has yielded thought-controlled arms and hands that grasp. By Rebecca Ruiz. msnbc.com (November 26, 2007). "When Paul Selmer lost his right leg below the knee in a hunting accident, a doctor fitted him with a standard prosthesis that required a waist belt to swing the wooden foot with each step. Selmer remembers it feeling like a 'sandbag.' That was 28 years ago. The gallery owner and small-aircraft pilot is now a devotee of a high-tech device called a PROPRIO foot, which utilizes sensors, artificial intelligence and microprocessors. ... According to the Amputee Coalition of America, Selmer is one of 1.9 million people living with limb loss in the country, many of whom have benefited from breakthrough technological advancements in the past few years. ... The American Orthotic & Prosthetic Association estimates that businesses provide $3.5 billion worth of services to orthotic and prosthetic patients annually. Increased government spending and research, triggered by the number of amputee soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, has played a significant role in helping to allocate resources for bold new projects." [Be sure to also see the slide show: Advancements in prosthetics - Research has yielded innovations such as thought-controlled arms and hands that grasp.] Positive results for robot therapy. By Caroline Ryan. BBC (February 18, 2002). "Robot physiotherapy is helping patients regain movement after a stroke. Scientists pioneering research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston believe stroke victims could see movement improve by up to 15%. ... If the patients start to move on their own, the robot provides adjustable levels of guidance and assistance to help their arm movements. Unlike human physiotherapy, the robot can guide a patient through the same movement thousands of times." Natural Language Generation for a Speech Prosthesis. From the Stanford University Center for the Study of Language and Information (CSLI). Following the project summary you'll find links to several downloadable papers. Golden age gadgets - We're still a long way from Isaac Asimov's sci-fi worlds peopled by robots of every description, but numerous robotic devices are now being marketed to serve our aging human population. By Sarah Staples. CanWest News Service / available from The Montreal Gazette (May 26, 2004). "As advances in software and materials substantially reduce the cost of robotics and boost potential applications, sales of 'personal service' robots, while still a fraction of traditional product sales, are quickly picking up. ... But elder care is another important niche, according to Paul Johnston, chairperson of the International Federation of Robotics and a vice-president of the Ottawa-based industry association Precarn Inc. 'People don't want to move out of their own home and into a care facility, so they're going to consider relying on robots to help manage all the little tasks of keeping a home,' he says. Personal robots are becoming robust, efficient and relatively cheap, fueling projections of a tenfold leap in sales by 2007, to at least 638,000 units, according to the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe. ... Canada's own HR6, a human-looking demo robot by Markham, Ont.,-based Dr. Robot, stands some 52 centimetres tall and weighs 4.8 kilograms. It uses a camera, microphones, sensors and artificial intelligence technology to recognize its owner's face and voice, respond to verbal commands and dial wirelessly into the Internet. It can also dance, sing, tell jokes and stories, check e-mail or fetch things." Babies driving robots at University of Delaware. By Neil Thomas. UDaily (November 9, 2007). "Babies driving robots. It sounds like the theme of a cartoon series but it is actually the focus of important and innovative research being conducted at the University of Delaware that could have significant repercussions for the cognitive development of infants with special needs. ... 'If these infants were adults, therapists would have options of assistive technology such as power wheelchairs,' [James C. (Cole)] Galloway said. 'Currently, children with significant mobility impairments are not offered power mobility until they are 5-6 years of age, or older. This delay in mobility is particularly disturbing when you consider the rapid brain development during infancy. Their actions, feelings and thinking all shape their own brain's development. Babies literally build their own brains through their exploration and learning in the complex world.' ... The tiny robot is ringed with sensors that can determine the obstacle-free roaming space, and will either allow infants to bump obstacles or will take control from the infant and drive around the obstacle itself." Research examines robot-assisted therapy. United Press International (December 5, 2002). "Computerized 'pets,' such as those coming from Japanese electronics makers, could approach their flesh-and-blood counterparts in providing people with social interaction stimuli, scientists said Thursday. Purdue University is running a year-long study that puts an 'AIBO' robot dog for six weeks in the homes of people 65 years and older who live alone, said Alan Beck, director of the Center for the Human-Animal Bond in Purdue's School of Veterinary Medicine. ... 'We want to see if robots can provide social stimulation in places such as assisted-living facilities and nursing homes,' Beck told United Press International. ... 'Ideally, down the road, these robotic pet companions could become a more valuable health asset,' [Nancy] Edwards said. 'They will record their masters' blood pressure, oxygen levels or heart rhythms.'" Walking Man - Sophisticated devices are helping amputees walk and run like never before. Innovator: Hugh Herr. By Logan Ward. Popular Mechanics 2005 Breakthrough Awards (November 2005). "Herr, who directs the biomechatronics group at MIT's Media Lab, has created an artificial knee with a microprocessor that continually senses the joint's position and the loads applied to the limb. Available from the Icelandic company Ossur since February, the Rheo Knee adapts to the user's walking style, adjusting resistance to allow for a secure, agile gait."
The New Age of Service Robots - From Fighting Fires to Serving Beer. Knowledge @ Wharton (November 20 - December 3, 2002). "R2-D2 and Rosie the robot maid may be coming soon to a home, or nursing home, near you. Thanks to advances in computing and navigation technology, robots - including sophisticated robot toys and appliances - are now being developed to serve people directly. ... [Joe] Engelberger is widely regarded as the 'father of robotics,' and at 77, he wants to sire yet another mechanical child. He is seeking funding to create a rolling, two-armed robot that could help older people stand up, cook meals for them, clean their toilets and even carry on simple conversations - effectively keeping them out of nursing homes." Assistive Technology. John M. Williams' column in Business Week Online.
Digital characters 'talk' to the deaf. By Jon Wurtzel. BBC (March 2, 2002). "Using digital avatars as signing translators could significantly expand the ways deaf and hard of hearing people communicate with the hearing world. The avatars are computer animations designed to look and move like real people. A computer program takes spoken English and converts it in real-time to text. The digital avatars then take this English text and sign its meaning on a display screen, in effect becoming a translator between spoken English and British sign language. ... Businesses should pursue this technology, and not just because it is the right thing to do. The deaf and hard of hearing account for 8.6 million of the 59 million people in the UK. Combine that with the millions throughout the world who would also benefit, and a huge market opportunity emerges for the right products." Developing Assistive Technology for People with Disabilities: Papers from the 1996 Fall Symposium, ed. Holly Yanco. Technical Report FS-96-05. American Association for Artificial Intelligence, Menlo Park, California.
Accessibility. IBM (August 24, 2005). "The latest Research Topic from alphaWorks focuses on Accessibility technologies, with the goal of creating end-to-end accessibility for all users. This new topic includes key projects from IBM Research as well as articles and other resources."
Accessibility Resources. Maintained by Gary Perlman. "This page contains links to information on making computers and software more accessible to persons with disabilities. As of May 2001, this page serves as the ACM SIGCAPH (Special Interest Group on Computers and the Physically Handicapped) page of Links to Internet Resources on Accessibility." "The mission of the Alliance for Technology Access is to connect children and adults with disabilities to technology tools."
The Archimedes Project. "Founded at Stanford University in 1992 and relocated to the University of Hawaii in 2003, the Archimedes Project has maintained its mission of ensuring that all people are able to take a full part in the global information society regardless of individual needs, abilities, preferences and culture." Assisted Computer Systems to Aid People with Alzheimer's Disease. University of Washington Department of Computer Science and Engineering. "The goal of the Assisted Cognition project is to create novel computer systems that will enhance the quality of life of people suffering from Alzheimer's Disease and similar cognitive disorders. This interdisciplinary project combines computer science research in artificial intelligence and ubiquitous computing with clinical research on patient care. Assisted Cognition systems are proactive memory and problem solving aids that help an individual perform the tasks of day-to-day life."
Assistive Technology Industry Association. "The mission of ATIA is to serve as the collective voice of the Assistive Technology industry so that the best products and services are delivered to people with disabilities." Brain2Robot project at the Fraunhofer Institute for Computer Architecture and Software Technology (FIRST): "The aim of the EU funded Brain2Robot project is to develop a prosthetic control system based on intended movements. ... Electrodes attached to the patient’s scalp measure the brain’s electrical signals. These are then amplified and transmitted to the computer. High-efficiency algorithms analyze these signals using machine-learning methods. They are capable of detecting changes in brain activity triggered by the purely mental conception of a particular behaviour. They can, for instance, unequivocally identify patterns reflecting the idea of moving the left or right hand and extract them from the many millions of neural impulses. They are then converted into control commands for the computer, enabling one to choose, for example, between two alternatives. Here – and this is the Fraunhofer researchers’ particular achievement – the main learning task is performed by the computer." "The Center for Aging Services Technologies (CAST) [a program of the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging] is a catalyst for innovation and new technologies in aging services. We are pleased to offer a clearinghouse of information about emerging technologies in aging services."
The Center for Future Health at the University of Rochester, home of the Smart Medical Home where "Smart Medical home Technology recognizes changes in people's condition and provides information for them to take action on their own behalf." "We at Certec - Center for Rehabilitation Engineering Research - are striving to combine technology and education in ways that people with disabilities will find worth using. We are a division of the Department of Design Sciences at Lund University." The DePaul University American Sign Language (ASL) Synthesizer. "Combining computer technology and linguistics research to bridge the communication gap between the deaf and hearing worlds, our team of deaf and hearing researchers is working towards the realization of a digital English-to-ASL translator." Visit their site and meet "Paula," a virtual interpreter. EASI - Equal Access to Software and Information. "EASI's mission is to serve as a resource by providing information and guidance in the area of access-to-information technologies by individuals with disabilities. We stay informed about developments and advancements within the adaptive computer technology field and spread that information to colleges, universities, K-12 schools, libraries and into the workplace. " GuideCane. The University of Michigan Mobile Robotics Lab. "Steering action is immediately felt by the user, who then follows the altered path prescribed by the steered sensor head." "FAST [ the UK based the Foundation for Assisitive Technology] provides information on the website about a wide range of research being carried out into AT product development and service improvement. It also maintains information on completed research so that the learning from these projects can be incorporated into new studies."
ICAST, the Intelligent Computational Assistive Technologies Research and Development Network. "This multi-disciplinary, multi-sectoral network has a unique structure. Due to the nature of its goals there is a large overlap among problems, technologies and markets. As a result, the ICAST network is a network of overlapping research and development clusters. For its first phases, there are four such clusters, one each for mobility issues, communication issues, smart homes, and elderly issues. ... The founding members of the network include the following organizations:Universities- York University, University of Toronto, University of Sherbrooke, University of Waterloo, University of British Columbia, University of New Brunswick, University of Ottawa, and University of Victoria.... Companies- HTX (The Health Technology Exchange), Precarn Incorporated, CRIM, Research In Motion, Quanser, Applied AI, and Systèmes Lifelink. ... Hospitals, Caregivers, Clinical Units - The Neil Squire Society and the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute." "The ICICLE system (Interactive Computer Identification and Correction of Language Errors) is an intelligent tutoring system under development in the NLP/AI Group of the CIS Department of the University of Delaware. The primary goal of ICICLE is to employ natural language processing and generation to tutor deaf students on their written English." ICOST2006, the 4th International Conference on Smart Homes and Health Telematics. "After three successful editions held in France (2003), Singapore (2004), and Canada (2005), ICOST2006 aims to continue to develop an active research community dedicated to explore how Smart Homes and Health Telematics can foster independent living and offer an enhanced quality of life for ageing and disabled people." "The Information Access Laboratory [at the University of Delaware's Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering] is dedicated to encouraging students with disabilities in the sciences by eliminating barriers that hinder their educational pursuits. Students with disabilities are especially underrepresented in the science, engineering, and math disciplines. Two primary reasons for this poor representation are: attitudinal barriers and inefficient accessibility to appropriate curriculum. Information Access addresses these issues through the development of innovative new technologies and outreach programs." "[This page offers] an overview of current Information Access Laboratory research and development projects. For more details about the projects and access to project publications and software, click on the title of the project." Intelligent Assistive Technology and Systems Lab (IATSL), Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy, University of Toronto. "We are a multi-disciplinary group of researchers with backgrounds in engineering, computer science, occupational therapy, speech-language pathology, and gerontology. Our goal is to develop assistive technology that is adaptive, flexible, and intelligent, to enable users to participate fully in their daily lives." (Also see this related article.) Interactive Forum hosted by Business Week Online - Assistive Technology. Kurzweil Educational Systems - home of the Kurzweil 1000: "Kurzweil 1000 is reading software that makes printed or electronic text accessible to people who are blind or have limited vision. It is the direct descendent of the first reading machine for the blind invented by Ray Kurzweil in 1976. Using Optical Character Recognition and Text to Speech technology combined with a unique audible user interface, Kurzweil 1000 converts the printed word into speech." Microsoft Accessibility. Resources include: Assistive Technology Products and Accessible Technology in Business. Mobile Sign Language Recognition. The Contextual Computing Group, Graphics, Visualization & Usability (GVU) Center at Georgia Tech. "In the past, we have demonstrated an American Sign Language (ASL) recognition system limited to a forty word vocabulary and a controlled lighting environment. We would like to extend that work toward a sign translation system aimed at a real world environment. One potential embodiment, Telesign ... Telesign acts as a sign-based cellular phone. The system would translate individual signs or phrases to English text, and the cellular radio would transmit synthesized speech or text to another phone or TDD system respectively." Nursebot Project from the University of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Michigan. "The goal of our project is to develop mobile, personal service robots that assist elderly people suffering from chronic disorders in their everyday life. We are currently developing anautonomous mobile robot that 'lives' in a private home of a chronically ill elderly person."
Quality of Life Technology (QoLT) Center, a National Science Foundation Engineering Research Center (ERC).
Pedestrian Mobility Aids for the Elderly: The Walker Project. From the University of Virginia's Walker Team. "One of the most important factors in quality of life for the elderly is their ability to move about independently. Mobility impairments due to age, injury or disease cause a downward trend in their quality of life. Lack of independence and exercise can have dramatic results. Although various types of mobility aids exist in research labs and on the market, walkers are used more than any mobility aid except the cane. Our work is concerned with developing an intelligent walker to assist the elderly and increase the ease and safety of their daily travels." RI-MAN - "a soft human interactive robot ... exhibits the skill and ability to realize human care and welfare tasks." From the Bio-Mimetic Control Research Center of RIKEN (The Institute of Physical and Chemical Research) at Nagoya. Be sure to watch the videos of RI-MAN responding to voice commands, locating the patient, and then lifting her. SIGACCESS, the ACM's Special Interest Group on Accessible Computing, "promotes the interests of professionals working on research and development of computing and information technology to help persons with disabilities."
Smart Wheelchair Component System from AT Sciences, LLC. "The Smart Wheelchair Component System (SWCS) provides navigation assistance to power wheelchair users. The SWCS consists of a modular collection of sensors and control electronics which can be attached to standard power wheelchairs from several different manufacturers with minimal modification to the wheelchair." Speech, Language & Virtual Human Research at the School of Computing Sciences, University of East Anglia. Here's where you'll find Guido, a "virtual signer" (see this May 5, 2005 press release) and TESSA & VANESSA. SYNFACE - Synthesised talking face derived from speech for hard of hearing users of voice channels - project at the Department of Speech, Music and Hearing, KTH [Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm] - "The main purpose of the SYNFACE project is to increase the possibilities for hard of hearing people to communicate by telephone. ... The background to the SYNFACE project is a Swedish project, Teleface." TAO-7 - Intelligent Wheelchair Base for the Development of Autonomous Wheelchair. From Applied AI Systems, Inc.
Other References OfflineNew home technology preserves independence. By Cathy Nicoll. The Daily News (September 6, 2004). "Researchers are looking at ways of using computers to help people with dementia stay in their homes longer. Nick Cercone, dean of the faculty of computer science at Dalhousie University, is the principal investigator with a team of nine others across Canada. ... The research team is also studying the repetitive questions that Alzheimer’s patients ask, often driving their caregivers to distraction. They’re wondering if they can build a computer that would respond to these questions intelligently, giving the caregiver a break and calming the patient. He and two others have been looking at language and Alzheimer’s, and discovered speech patterns in transcripts of taped conversations between patients and caregives that could lead to a new diagnostic tool. They wrote a computer program that was able to classify patients as demented or non-demented, with the same accuracy as doctors." Leifer, L. 1992. Prostheses. In Encyclopedia of Artificial Intelligence. 2nd ed. Shapiro, Stuart C., editor. Volume 2: pages 797 - 805. New York: John Wiley & Sons. |
