Robo help
Monday 9 November 2009
Robots are becoming an everyday part of life for some people. Read on to find out how.
Age of the robot
A robot is an artificial figure made up of different mechanical parts. All robots are programmed to act, respond and interact differently with the world around them, depending on what they were made for.
Some robots are built to work in the manufacturing industry to build things like cars and electrical goods. Others are designed for dangerous situations such as disarming bombs. NASA send many of their robots to space for missions that are too dangerous for humans. Humanoid robots however, are built to behave just like us.
Discover more about the different types of robots made.
Robotic aids
More and more often robots are built to help us humans out. Some are programmed to aid people with physical limits – and many of them are proving to be a success!
Robotic arm
A new hi-tech robotic arm has been built to help people with dyspraxia, a condition that affects a person's co-ordination and movement. The condition makes simple tasks like handwriting, buttoning a coat and using cutlery quite difficult.
11 year old Tom Powis uses the robotic arm to improve the movements in his hands. The arm is connected to his computer and positioned on his desk allowing Tom to get a comfortable grip on it.
The arm is built with a pen and programmed with therapist-approved exercises. Tom holds on to the pen and guides it through a digital image displayed on his computer screen. The robotic arm then monitors and helps him control his hand movements, smoothness and speed.
Robotic body
People in Japan have been ahead of the robotic crowd for years and always manage to come up with hi-tech inventions.
Recently, a Japanese electronics company invented a robotic skeleton called the Hybrid Assisted Limb (HAL) which helps patients with poor physical strength.
The skeleton is built like a skin which the user can strap themselves into. The skin comes equipped with sensors that react to the nerves in the user's body and helps them improve the strength in their arms and legs.
The skin was recently tested on an elderly patient who suffered from Parkinsons, and they were able to stand up and walk for the first time in two years.
Check out HAL in action.
Robotic legs
Recent robotic inventions have also helped people who are paralysed. The ReWalk robot is a remote-controlled device that aids people who are paralysed from the waist down.
Users wear a backpack that connects to a pair of robotic legs attached to their own legs. When the users lean forward, they activate sensors in the robot that set the robotic legs in to motion. The legs then make the necessary movements that help users stand, walk and also climb up stairs.
