6A
NEWS / THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2010 / THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN / KANSAN.COM
Professor helps develop robot to assist the elderly
The robot can read people's mannerisms to determine if they need help
BY MEG LOWRY
mlowry@kansan.com
Imagine your life in 60 years. You oversleep and are awakened by a walking, talking robot checking to make sure you are all right.
Within five years, this could be a reality for the increasing elderly population of the world.
population of the world.
Jim Juola, a professor of cognitive psychology, is part of an international team designing a robot that would provide in-home care for the elderly. He is the only person from the United States to be working on the project, which is funded by the European Commission. The project is called K-SERA — Knowledgable Service Robots for the Aging.
"The goal is to have a personal care assistant that provides contact with other humans easily," Juola said. "It provides reminders of things like appointments, medications and exercises."
tions and exercises.
The population of people age 65 and older is increasing rapidly, and more than half of people 85 or older suffer from signs of dementia, said Juola. In the United States, 13 percent of the population is over 65.
according to the 2010 U.S. census. The U.S.Census Bureau projects that number will increase to 19.7 percent in 2030.
percent in 2015.
"I never realized just how many elderly people there were or that needed care," said Elizabeth Olson, a senior from Wichita. "Our generation really doesn't realize how much care they will need."
much care they need.
Olson worked for a year at Life
Care Center of Andover as a nurse
providing care for the elderly.
providing care for them, from feeding to bathing." Olsen said. "It's literally like taking care of a five-year-old."
care of a five year
the robot, which is named "Nao"
and manufactured by Aldebaran
Robotics in France, tracks the
humans movements. If the human
looks at it, it will return the gaze.
If the person's gaze is focused else-
where, Nao will look to where he or
she is looking.
she is looking.
The robot is only two and a half feet tall, and is capable of speaking multiple languages.
multiple languages. Olson, however, explains that caring for the elderly requires more than just behavioral and medical attention.
"One of the biggest roles of a nurse is emotional care," said Olson. "You need to let them know you do care, because a lot of times the elderly feel very lonely."
elderly caretaker Juola said the robot can offer some aspect of companionship to patients.
patients. "The robot should provide news, films and TV clips, which are projected from within it onto any surface," Juola said. "It also can evaluate the patients mental and emotional state, through behavior and conversation, and suggest activities."
sation, and suggest Many patients who require assisted living have lost their spouses or are no longer in contact with other family members.
Olson remembers one of her patients who would wait by the door during family visitation hours expecting someone to come. She had no friends or family left.
"At that point in their life, they may have no visitors." Olson said. "They may have lost spouses or other family members. You have to provide them someone to talk to and someone to turn to."
and someone to the Juola said the robot would give caregivers peace of mind.
"Long-term care can be exhausting, because of worry or a lack of freedom." Juola said. "Children and caregivers of the elderly could at the very least go on with their lives knowing that contact with outside help would be instantaneous."
help would be usable.
A camera inside the robot will recognize if a patient requires assistance and will call for help if needed. Patients will be able to program emergency contact information in to the robot.
Within a year, the robot will be put into nursing homes and hospitals for testing.
tars for testing.
The robot costs $25,000. But a year in a nursing home, Juola explains, costs around $50,000, making the robot a social and economic solution to a growing problem. Eventually, the robot will be used in-home to offset the costs of other methods of assisted living
"Those are the kind of people who you really have to step in and be their family," said Olson. "The robot would have to be able to provide that for them and be the next best thing."
Edited by David Cawthon
The robot, called Nao, stands two feet tall. It will cost $25,000 dollars when available for sale.
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Lawrence and Manhattan to green it up for competition
Challenge winner will receive money for renewable energy project in city
BY STEPHEN GRAY sgray@kansan.com
As the Jayhawks and Wildcats prepare to battle for Big 12 basketball supremacy, there is another important competition this year with bragging rights on the line.
The Take Charge Challenge, a $100,000 sustainability contest that will match Lawrence and the University of Kansas
against Manhattan and Kansas State University, was agreed to by city commissioners earlier this month. The contest will measure each community's ability to save energy.
energy:
"We're trying to bring people together with a few common goals in mind — saving energy, saving money and helping your community win," said Dorothy Barnett, director of energy and
transmission for the Climate and Energy Project, an organizer of the competition.
The challenge, supported by the aforementioned Climate and Energy Project and the state-run Kansas Energy Office, will weigh Lawrence and Manhattan in three categories from January through September of 2011 to determine the community that has reduced its energy usage the most. The
winning community will then receive a $100,000 grant to start a public energy efficiency project in its city.
The three categories include:
The three categories include:
· The percentage of residents that sign up for home energy audits from Efficiency Kansas, a state program from the Kansas Energy Office.
- The percentage of residents that sign up for Westar Energy's EfficiencyWorksprograms,which can include the installation of programmable thermostats and heat pump systems.
-Consider walking, biking, motorcycles, public transportation, trains or car pools.
Transportation :
TIPS FOR SAVING ENERGY
-Buy and use compact florescent or LED light bulbs.
-Try this test: Close your refrigerator door on a dollar bill. If you can pull it out easily, you may need to replace the door gasket.
-Tight sealing gaskets keep cold air in and lower energy costs.
-In the winter, lower your thermostat (especially when you're not at home).
-Keep your tires properly inflated if you drive. It can save up to 7 cents per gallon and improve mileage by 3 percent.
- The percentage of residents that switch their incandescent light bulbs with more energy efficient compact fluorescent light bulbs (which will be recorded on a Phillips Lighting website).
This intercity challenge is also part of a larger statewide effort by the Lawrence-based Climate and Energy Project. The Climate and Energy Project sponsored a similar competition last year among six Kansas communities, and has
Home Appliances:
Home :
Jeff Severin, the director of the Center for Sustainability, will be on the Lawrence leadership team for the competition and plans to meet with Kansas State representatives soon to determine measurements that are more university-related.
"With this extra element of competition between in-state rivals, it raises the bar in terms of getting people interested in reducing their energy use," Severin said. "We'll certainly try to get our campus community involved to take advantage of that."
-Turn lights off when not in use.
-Turn lights off when not in use.
-Turn off and unplug TVs, DVD players, computers, lights, etc,
when not in use.
— Source: www.climateandenergy.ora
raised it to 16 communities this year.
With money from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, both Lawrence and Manhattan will receive $25,000 grants from the Kansas Energy Office to fund the challenge. Five local coordinators are also being hired by the Climate and Energy Project for the contest.
Margaret Tran, the Lawrence coordinator and a recent KU graduate, said one of the main focuses of the challenge will be raising awareness among students.
"Combining forces with students at KU will allow that natural rivalry to carry over to this energy efficiency competition," she said
efficiency competition. The winner will accept a $100,000 grant next October that
can be used on any type of energy efficiency or renewable energy project in their city, though the specific details of this have not been discussed yet. The Take Charge Challenge will also give three other $100,000 grants to the winners from the 14 other participating communities.
Eileen Horn, the sustainability coordinator for Lawrence and Douglas County, said she hoped the challenge would make energy efficiency both fun and cost effective.
e. Energy efficiency can be difficult to sell to people sometimes because it isn't very visible", Horn said, "but it has a dramatic impact on your energy savings."
Edited by Michael Bednar
785-842-3040
jayhawkinns@synflower.com