When Nejat began developing robots in 2005, she spent much of her time knocking on doors to let people know how her robots worked, but few showed interest. "But now, it's different," says Nejat. "People calling from around the world ask when my robots are going to be ready."
Nejat's robots are designed to fill an increasing need: care-giving for the old. The population of the people over age 80 will be 426 million in 2050, three times larger than that now.
Such robots could be especially useful for patient with Alzheimer's disease (阿尔兹海默症). They can help with everyday activities from preparing food to reminding the patients of taking their medicine. They can also play games with patients to keep them active.
Some have worried that care-giving robots might cut down human interaction (互动) and cause more humans to lose their jobs. "But the aim is to support human care, not to take the place of it," says Brian Scassellati. He has tested robots with different patients, and found that daily interaction with robots can help children with autism (自闭症) improve communication skills.
As a field (领域) grows, scientists aim to understand human-robot relationships better. Do robots offer advantages because they don't have feelings and don't give opinions? Will patients lose interest? "One thing is clear," Scassellati says, "Robots can provide care for the customers and the need for that will increase in the future."
