Health-care robotics goes commercial: the ‘HelpMate’ experience

Even as the first industrial robot started earning its keep, researchers were dreaming of using robots in servicejobs, intimately serving human mentors as Isaac Asimovwould have had it. But that was not to be. Initially therewas a paucity of appropriate technology. Then the barriers became economic and institutional. These barriers will be discussed to set the scene. The discussion then will focus on a spectrum of technologythat has been channelled into a cost-effective commercialproduct. HelpMate utilises an array of sensors andsensor fusion to succeed as a courier in multi-storeyedcluttered hospitals. Our advice for all researchers whowould have robots serve in health care is: “Get out intothe real world as soon as you can”.