A Special Place for Blog Lovers with a Touch of Science!

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Robots have come a long way. For years they have been supporting human activity – enabling exploration in dangerous and unreachable environments like out in space and deep in the oceans. A new generation of robots are being designed to stay closer to home – caring for ageing adults and young children.

In the not-too-distant future, elderly people who live alone may be reminded to take their medicine, have books read to them, and be offered a metaphorical, shoulder to cry on - by a robot.

As Europe's ageing population places increasing strain on healthcare services – with the share of older people in the total population expected to increase significantly in the coming decades – robots could provide a useful solution.

Several robots are being developed as companions to help the aged live independently for longer.

'Robotics are essential for the health sector and for older adults because in 20 to 30 years' time there's not going to be enough people to take care of the ageing population,' said Estibaliz Arzoz-Fernandez, project manager and deputy coordinator of a joint EU-Japan project called ACCRA.

An 8-bit pneumatic RAM chip used to help a soft robot control its movements. Credit: William Grover

Pneumatic soft robots use pressurized air to move soft, rubbery limbs and grippers

Engineers at the University of California, Riverside have unveiled an air-powered computer memory that can be used to control soft robots. The innovation overcomes one of the biggest obstacles to advancing soft robotics: the fundamental mismatch between pneumatics and electronics. The U.S. National Science Foundation-funded work is published in PLOS One.

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Artificial Intelligence – an inextricable part of our lives.

Whether we like it or not, artificial intelligence is already part of our lives and the tendency is to become more and more interwoven with all human activities. Nowadays, some of the dreams of past generations are facts. However, as we daily adopt new technologies, the menace of losing control over this exponentially increasing process is always presented. We cannot deny the benefits of technological development. It made some of the painstaking efforts of the past look like no-brainers. Maybe that is what we should fear the most. It seems that the real challenge for future generations would be to find the subtle balance between technology and hand-work, artificial intelligence, and the good old human consciousness with all its pros and cons.

If you would like to know what are the international moods toward AI, below you will find the latest statistics made by Pew Research Center: