It’s World IBD Day 2022. This year I’ve been working on integrating activity tracker information into my on going home robotics project to highlight issues with managing chronic fatigue. Fatigue can affect up to 80% of people with active Crohn’s Disease and between 40 to 50% of those who are in remission. This is the 5th part of my social robotics project investigating ways to...
Animation, Personality and Social Robots
Over the last several years top character artists and animators have worked with various social robotics companies. I was intrigued to know more about what the field of animation and character design might have to offer social robotics.
I did a podcast!
I was a guest on Episode 132 “AI For Good” of the Cynical Developer Podcast near the end of 2019. We talked about my robotics project, social robots in general and Crohn’s Disease. The Cynical Developer is where I first heard about the Vector robot so the whole thing coming full circle was wonderful! Talking about what I was working on and how I think social / socially assistive...
Post Appointment
This is the 4th part of my social robotics project investigating ways to help manage Crohn’s Disease. Inspiration “What would it be like to have a robot check up on me after my doctor’s appointment?” It made me chuckle at first. Then I quickly realised I had most of the functionality already written so I thought why not! Nobody really likes going to the doctor. I certainly...
Shall We Play A Game?
Following on from the appointment reminder functionality this is the third part of my Social Robotics and Crohn’s Disease project. (Did you recognize where “Shall we play a game?” comes from? Here’s the answer) Inspiration I wanted to investigate the potential for creating more interactivity and make some use out of my own medical data. When I first read about the...
Social Robots
In the late 90s and into the early 2000s there was a growth in popularity of consumer robotics. Robotic pets like Sony’s Aibo, Sega Toys’ Poo-chi, or Tiger Electronic’s Furby. Medical robots like PETS Robots for paediatric rehabilitation, NurseBot for assisting elderly patients or Roball as a potential educational tool for autistic children. Honda’s ASIMO and NASA’s...
Appointment Reminder
This is the second part of my Social Robotics and Crohn’s Disease project. Inspiration When things are going bad with Crohn’s Disease it is tough to stay on top of things. When my doctor asks me questions like “Did we sort out your vaccinations for the year?” I want to be able to answer that question. I think it’s very important to be aware of my treatment so I...
PillBot – using a social robot to help manage Crohn’s Disease
Update: This is Part 1 in a series of personal projects investigating the use of a Social Robot (and in future other assistive technologies) to help manage Crohn’s Disease. Please consider making a donation to the Irish Society for Colitis and Crohn’s Disease. To anyone from Anki who might happen to read this: I was genuinely sad to hear about the company going out of business. I hope...