Why Social Robots?

Robots as companions and assistants has been a staple diet of science fiction for many years, whether it was C-3PO in Star Wars (Circa 1977), Twiki from Buck Rogers (Circa 1980), or, more recently, BayMax in Big Hero 6. We have taken these characters into our lives and many have longed for their own robot companions. Unfortunately, technology just hasn't caught up with our imaginations; until recently.

Since the early 2000s, we have started to see the first realisation of our science fictions robots, with the most well known being Honda's ASIMO. Today, robots are available commercially for everything from healthcare work, through retail and banking and on into education. Major universities are researching the value of robots in care and how they change our feelings towards technology. Paro, the robot seal, is already in use with people living with dementia, and our own work with children on the autism spectrum is moving forward rapidly. The real difference is that today, our robots are learning to take a social role, in limited ways, within our society, helping shoppers with information or assisting teachers working with special educational needs children.

However, the amazing robots we see today, like Nao and Pepper, are only useful if they can be programmed to perform useful tasks. And that is where we focus, turning robots into valuable solutions. Whether it is a custom requirement or something we have already addressed in one of our solutions. We are here to ensure that you get the maximum return on investment with your social robots.

See the latest version of Assist for Autism at TES SEN 2018