Science Fiction
Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
 |
HLPR Chair Mobility Robotics
The HLPR Chair, a proof-of-concept prototype developed by engineers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, will offer robotic assistance to wheelchair-dependent people. It will also help out caregivers at home and in hospitals by moving patients from chair to bed or exam table.
(HLPR Chair robotic Home Lift, Position and Rehabilitation system)
HLPR, which stands for Home Lift, Position and Rehabilitation, draws on mobile robotic technology developed for defense and manufacturing applications. It uses an off-the-shelf forklift with a U-frame base on casters. The user can maneuver the chair with joystick controls.
The HLPR robotic chair can support patients of up to 300 pounds; the heavy elements of the chair are positioned to keep its center of gravity within its wheelbase at all times. The patient can rotate out, from the inner chair frame, over a toilet, chair or bed while supported by torso lifts.
The maximum velocity of the HLPR chair is about 27 inches per second. In the future, the HLPR chair will be able to autonomously dock with toilets and will come when called.
Science fiction writers have done some advance thinking on the subject of patient care and mobility. In the 1966 Japanese manga film Roujin Z, an elderly bed-ridden man seemingly without family tests a new robot - the Z-0001.
(Roujin-Z hospital bed/robot in profile, carrying patient)
Find out more about Roujin-Z and Robot Elder Care.
Be sure to take a look at some helper robots that are being designed to serve a similar purpose for caregivers: the Vecna BEAR Battlefield Extraction And Retrieval Robot and the RI-MAN Hospital Robot.
Source article here.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 10/1/2006)
Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |
Would
you like to contribute a story tip?
It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add
it here.
Comment/Join discussion ( 1 )
Related News Stories - (" Robotics ")
Robot With Human Brain Organoid - 'A Thrilling Story Of Mechanistic Progress'
'A human brain snugly encased in a transparent skull-shaped receptacle.' - Otis Adelbert Kline, 1936.
Optimus Robot Will Be A Good Nanny, Says Musk
'Nanny is different,' Tom Fields murmured... 'she's not like a machine. She's like a person.' - Philip K. Dick, 1955.
LORIS Passive-Gripper Climbing Robot
'At the end of each appendage's eight fingers there are tinier appendages...' - Ken MacLeod, 2003.
Athena Smart Security Guard Robot With Face Recognition
'You are who we say you are, Dr. Dakin,' Turner said.' - Greg Bear, 2003.
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
Current News
Cognify - A Prison Of The Mind We've Seen Before In SF
'So I serve a hundred years in one day...'
Robot With Human Brain Organoid - 'A Thrilling Story Of Mechanistic Progress'
'A human brain snugly encased in a transparent skull-shaped receptacle.'
Goodness Gracious Me! Google Tries Face Recognition Security
'The actuating mechanism that should have operated by the imprint of her image on the telephoto cell...'
With Mycotecture, We'll Just Grow The Space Habitats We Need
'The only real cost was in the plastic balloon that guided the growth of the coral and enclosed the coral's special air-borne food.'
Can A Swarm Of Deadly Drones Take Out An Aircraft Carrier?
'The border was defended by... a swarm of quasi-independent aerostats.'
WiFi and AI Team Up To See Through Walls
'The pitiless M rays pierced Earth and steel and densest concrete as if they were so much transparent glass...'
Climate Engineering In California Could Make Europe's Heat Waves Worse
'Pina2bo would have to operate full blast for many years to put as much SO2 into the stratosphere as its namesake had done in a few minutes.'
Optimus Robot Will Be A Good Nanny, Says Musk
'Nanny is different,' Tom Fields murmured... 'she's not like a machine. She's like a person.'
ESA To Build Moon Bases Brick By Printed LEGO Brick
'We made a crude , small cell and were delighted - and, I admit, somewhat surprised - to find it worked.'
Does The Shortage Of Human Inputs Limit AI Development?
'...we've promised him a generous pension from the royalties.'
Textiles That Harvest Energy And Store It
'The clothes and jewelery drew their tiny power requirements from her movements.'
LORIS Passive-Gripper Climbing Robot
'At the end of each appendage's eight fingers there are tinier appendages...'
Neuroplatform Human Brain Organoid Bioprocessor Uses Less Electricity
'Cultured brains on a slab.'
Drug To Regenerate Teeth In Humans
'We want to do something to help those who are suffering from tooth loss or absence,' said lead researcher Katsu Takahashi.
Coin-Sized Nuclear Battery Good For 100 Years
'...power pack the size of a pea.'
Live Stream With Meta-Ban Multimodal Smart Glasses
'...the bug-eyed, opaque gape of her True-Vu lenses.'
