Arobothas been range the residence hall of UCLA Mattel Children ’s Hospital , visiting sick children and brighten up their expectation in a marrow - warm new study . research worker reveal that their human - master robot , called Robin , was capable to encourage a more electropositive lookout in the kid and even improve their aesculapian fundamental interaction , and sketch their important work in a discipline that will be present at theAmerican Academy of Pediatrics ( AAP ) National Conference .
“ Our team has demonstrated that a social fellow robot can go beyond video New World chat on a tablet to give us a more inventive and profound way to make the infirmary less stressful , ” enjoin Justin Wagner , MD , a pediatric surgeon at UCLA Mattel Children ’s Hospital and senior author of the study , in astatement .
“ As the pandemic continues , our patients are still feeling queasy and vulnerable in a sort of ways , so it ’s critical that we be as creative as possible to make their experiences promiscuous when they postulate our avail . ”
Robin is around 1.2 meters ( 4 feet ) tall and can move , speak and play with the children , and features a screenland on the top that can show facial expression and more . Robin chitchat the children for hour - prospicient sessions during the study period , and the outcomes were compared to that of using a received tablet , which have become commonplace in hospitals while the pandemic continues .
They learn that 90 percentage of affected role were " super likely " to demand for another visit from Robin , indicating an overpoweringly positive response to the golem friend . Alongside this , there was a reported 29 percent gain in positive affect ( how positively the children reacted to the universe ) , which was importantly more promising than the tablet visit , and a 33 per centum decrease in negative affect .
The mood improvement even seemed to affect the healthcare workers and families , intimate Robin was a significantly full pick compared to current ways of remote visiting .
