MSGID: 1:317/3 646306dc   
   PID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
   TID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
    Can't find your phone? There's a robot for that    
    Robots can help find objects you've lost, thanks to new 'artificial   
   memory'    
      
     Date:   
         May 15, 2023   
     Source:   
         University of Waterloo   
     Summary:   
         Engineers have discovered a new way to program robots to help   
         people with dementia locate medicine, glasses, phones and other   
         objects they need but have lost.   
      
      
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   FULL STORY   
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   Engineers at the University of Waterloo have discovered a new way to   
   program robots to help people with dementia locate medicine, glasses,   
   phones and other objects they need but have lost.   
      
   And while the initial focus is on assisting a specific group of people,   
   the technology could someday be used by anyone who has searched high   
   and low for something they've misplaced.   
      
   "The long-term impact of this is really exciting," said Dr. Ali Ayub,   
   a post- doctoral fellow in electrical and computer engineering. "A   
   user can be involved not just with a companion robot but a personalized   
   companion robot that can give them more independence."  Ayub and three   
   colleagues were struck by the rapidly rising number of people coping with   
   dementia, a condition that restricts brain function, causing confusion,   
   memory loss and disability. Many of these individuals repeatedly forget   
   the location of everyday objects, which diminishes their quality of life   
   and places additional burdens on caregivers.   
      
   Engineers believed a companion robot with an episodic memory of its own   
   could be a game-changer in such situations. And they succeeded in using   
   artificial intelligence to create a new kind of artificial memory.   
      
   The research team began with a Fetch mobile manipulator robot, which   
   has a camera for perceiving the world around it.   
      
   Next, using an object-detection algorithm, they programmed the robot to   
   detect, track and keep a memory log of specific objects in its camera   
   view through stored video. With the robot capable of distinguishing one   
   object from another, it can record the time and date objects enter or   
   leave its view.   
      
   Researchers then developed a graphical interface to enable users to choose   
   objects they want to be tracked and, after typing the objects' names,   
   search for them on a smartphone app or computer. Once that happens, the   
   robot can indicate when and where it last observed the specific object.   
      
   Tests have shown the system is highly accurate. And while some individuals   
   with dementia might find the technology daunting, Ayub said caregivers   
   could readily use it.   
      
   Moving forward, researchers will conduct user studies with people without   
   disabilities, then people with dementia.   
      
   A paper on the project, Where is my phone? Towards developing an episodic   
   memory model for companion robots to track users' salient objects,   
   was presented at the recent 2023 ACM/IEEE International Conference on   
   Human-Robot Interaction.   
      
       * RELATED_TOPICS   
             o Mind_&_Brain   
                   # Dementia # Memory # Alzheimer's # Intelligence   
             o Computers_&_Math   
                   # Robotics # Artificial_Intelligence # Mobile_Computing   
                   # Computer_Science   
       * RELATED_TERMS   
             o Multi-infarct_dementia o Dementia_with_Lewy_bodies o   
             Humanoid_robot o Industrial_robot o Robot o Robotic_surgery   
             o Alzheimer's_disease o Object-oriented_programming   
      
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   Story Source: Materials provided by University_of_Waterloo. Note:   
   Content may be edited for style and length.   
      
      
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   Journal Reference:   
      1. Juhi Shah, Ali Ayub, Chrystopher L. Nehaniv, Kerstin   
      Dautenhahn. Where is   
         My Phone? HRI '23: Companion of the 2023 ACM/IEEE   
         International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction, 2023 DOI:   
         10.1145/3568294.3580160   
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   Link to news story:   
   https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/05/230515132043.htm   
      
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