In a hallway at UMass Memorial Children’s Medical Center, a 6-year-old leukemia patient named Luca met eyes with a four-foot-tall, triangular robot with the voice of a cartoon kid and a screen for a face. This is Robin the Robot, a robotic pediatric caregiver being deployed in children’s hospitals to lift spirits—even if it doesn’t have any of its own.
As reported by the Associated Press, Robin was developed by Expper Technologies and its CEO, Karen Khachikyan, who grew up lonely in Armenia and decided to build the kind of friend he never had.
Robin isn’t an AI. He’s more of a complex puppet with some degree of autonomy. About 30 percent of Robin’s actions are autonomous. The rest is the handiwork of a nearby team of operators.
Suppose you’ve watched behind-the-scenes footage of a movie monster animatronic being operated by special effects wizards with what looks like a custom-built RC car controller. In that case, you get the gist of it.
Hospitals Are Using a Huggable Robot Named Robin to Support Children
Robin is programmed to mirror emotions. It smiles if you do. If you cry, Robin will frown. Robin can even remember you, which Luca’s mom couldn’t believe when Robin entered the hospital room, greeting Luca like an old friend. Or, at the very least, a familiar acquaintance.
Robin remembers a patient’s favorite songs and plays them. Robin comes loaded with a series of jokes, like a stand-up comedian’s repertoire of surefire knockout punch lines tailor-made to get a giggle out of a kid.
In children’s hospitals, Robin becomes a peer who’s also getting an IV set in. His comes via video, demonstrating how quick and painless the procedure can be. In nursing homes, it plays memory games and leads breathing exercises.
In 2020, UCLA Mattel Children’s Hospital piloted Robin, and now the robot’s making rounds in 30 U.S. facilities from Massachusetts to California.
I couldn’t find anything that mentioned the origins of the name Robin. Still, I can’t help but notice the parallels between robotic Robin and Robin Williams, who once starred in the film Patch Adams, a movie based on a true story about an American physician turned clown who believed that humor and joy were essential to healing.
That, of course, raises the question of why not just get a person to do this? While I’m sure hospitals regularly bring in real clowns or some variety of entertainer for children, healthcare staffing shortages leave many doctors who would fill those roles unavailable. Robin might seem like a novelty now, but it might be a necessity soon.
Future plans include equipping Robin with the ability to take vitals, send updates to medical teams, and assist with elderly care tasks such as dressing and bathroom visits. Khachikyan tells the Associated Press that Robin isn’t going to replace nurses anytime soon, but it will act as a sidekick. We’ll see about that.
The tech industry doesn’t seem to be satisfied with simply being an assistant. Why play second fiddle when you can get the spotlight all to yourself?
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