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
 |
Simroid Robot Dental Patient Zombie Oral Prophylaxis
Simroid is a robotic dental patient to be used for training dentists. Simroid is able to follow verbal instructions from the trainee dentist, and can react in a human-like (eerie, but human-like) way to mouth pain. As you can see in the video below, she plays her part very convincingly.
(Simroid video)
Simroid's realistic appearance is due to her air-powered muscles and soft silicone skin; she shares these characteristics with Actroid, the well-known receptionist android. Both of these fembots owe their existence to Kokoro Company, Ltd.
(Simroid says "ahh...")
Simroid has a number of special features that distinguish her from her sister; she has a mouth loaded with sensors to provide feedback to her students. To express pain after an unfortunate poke, Simroid grimaces, moves her hands and eyes and says "That hurts." If the student dentist pokes an instrument too far down Simroid's throat, she exhibits a gag reflex. Although Simroid does not have as many facial expressions as EveR2-Muse, the South Korean humanoid robot, or the gesturing range of Repliee Q1, she seems successful in conveying discomfort.
The intent is to provide students with some training in a context that emphasizes treating the patient as a person (and not just a set of teeth).
Simroid's sensors are not limited to her mouth. In the event that a young dentist has read about how we will soon be marrying robots, and jumps the gun a bit with Simroid, she has a sensor on the breast area that keeps track if she has been touched inappropriately.
I do believe that Simroid and robots like her will have an increasingly important role in training health care professionals. However, I'm not sure whether I want my dentist trained to work best with patients that are not quite human.
Via Humanoid robot teaches dentists to feel people's pain.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 11/29/2007)
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 - (" Medical ")
ErythroMer Artificial Blood
'My chemists are all working on the preparation of the artificial blood.' - Dr. David H. Keller, M.D.
MouthPad Supports Head And Tongue Tracking
'The operation that had transformed half his body... had located the control switchboard in his teeth.'- Alfred Bester, 1956.
Drug Induces Hibernation-Like State In Humans
'... drugged and chilled and stowed in sleep tanks.' - Robert Heinlein, 1951.
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.
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
Tiny Flying Robot Weighs Just One Gram
'Aerostat meant anything that hung in the air. This was an easy trick to pull off nowadays.'
Some Ringworld Configurations Are Stable
'The Ringworld had no horizon. There was no line where the land curved away from the sky.'
TRANSFORM Dynamic Furniture Concept Becomes What You Need
'An adjustment panel outside the door would cause it to extrude various appurtenances in memory plastic...'
Harvard Metamaterials Change Structure Instantly
'Annealed in any shape for a time, and codified, the structure of that shape is retained down to the molecules.'
SnapBot Robots - You Choose Their Legs And They Choose Their Gaits
It's not really polite to tear the limbs off robots.
Dino From Magical Toys An AI Companion To Children
'...the imaginary companions discovered by needful children.'
Humanoid Robots Building Humanoid Robots
''Pardon me, Struthers,' he broke in suddenly... 'haven't you a section of the factory where only robot labor is employed?''
Darpa 'Defiant' Unmanned Autonomous Ship
'There was no wheel, and no steersman!'
What's The Best Way To Ship And Unpack Humanoid Robots?
'I opened the oblong box, where lay the automatons side by side...'
DNA Printed Book By Isaac Asimov Now Available
'They tied the memory to the bloodline and that was their record!'
AI Computer Chip Designs Passeth Human Understanding
'It seems that at one time computers were designed directly by human beings.'
Space Traffic Management (STM) Needed Now
'...the spot was a lonely one in an uncharted region, far from the normal lanes of space traffic.'
Fine-Tune Your Infinite Book The Way You Want It
'I squatted down beside the roller and tried to make some sense out of the knobs. There were thirty-nine of them...'
SpiRobs Soft Spiral Robotic Arm
'Beware the long, flexible, glittering tentacles...'
Holland Factory 3D Printing 500 Tons Of Steak Per Month
'...I don’t understand technical things — tell me, does it ever feel anything?"
Stratospheric Solar Geoengineering From Harvard
'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.'
