Your Very Own "Personal Healthcare Companion in the Near Future?

Imagine a personalized robot with a soothing voice that can diagnose a wide variety of healthcare issues and recommend the best possible care? Sounds like science fiction?  Well maybe not for long.

In case you missed it, the number one movie in America is Disney's "Big Hero 6".  This movie stars a lovable robot named Baymax described as a "healthcare providing robot nurse".  Amazingly, the concept for the movies healthcare robot came from actual research in robotics done at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU).

Personalized Diagnosis from a robot?

Carnegie Mellon had developed an inflatable robotic arm that inspired the design of Baymax.  This use of "soft robotics" (made of soft materials) offer advantages over metallic robots especially in terms of safety when operating near people in a healthcare environment.  For more information about CMU's research in soft robotics, click this link or watch the YouTube video.