‘Companion robot’ comes to socialize with old people in Moscow
A new ‘companion robot’ is expected to appear in Moscow early next month to keep company with the lonely elderly
May 05, 2015
The project comes from the Skolkovo innovation hub being developed just outside Moscow, the website of the Russian daily Izvestia reported.
The gadget looks like a football and gets power from a standard room outlet. The device is said to be able to recite poems, tell funny stories and announce news. In addition, the robot is reported to be smart enough to automatically search for answers to old people’s questions in the Internet, as well as pick news from aggregators, and verbalize those out loud.
The device is reportedly ‘taught’ to play a number of games, including chess, and can keep a conversation going on "basically any topic." The developers claim the robot possesses human-like emotions: it can get angry, offended, or excited, they say.
It took the developers a reported 18 months to come up with the new system. The Skolkovo engineers say they will be working to further improve the invention.
The initial 10-robot batch is expected to arrive at Moscow’s psychological counseling centers by May 9 when Russia celebrates the W.W.II Victory Day. The elderly will reportedly be able to rent the robots for free and even possibly take those home.
The gadget looks like a football and gets power from a standard room outlet. The device is said to be able to recite poems, tell funny stories and announce news. In addition, the robot is reported to be smart enough to automatically search for answers to old people’s questions in the Internet, as well as pick news from aggregators, and verbalize those out loud.
The device is reportedly ‘taught’ to play a number of games, including chess, and can keep a conversation going on "basically any topic." The developers claim the robot possesses human-like emotions: it can get angry, offended, or excited, they say.
It took the developers a reported 18 months to come up with the new system. The Skolkovo engineers say they will be working to further improve the invention.
The initial 10-robot batch is expected to arrive at Moscow’s psychological counseling centers by May 9 when Russia celebrates the W.W.II Victory Day. The elderly will reportedly be able to rent the robots for free and even possibly take those home.