A Robot Built to Give Disabled and Elderly Some Independence

Imagine having an itch on your head but being unable to scratch it. Or wanting a drink, but needing another person to stand beside you and hold it for several minutes. For someone with a significant mobility impairment, completing one of these actions can restore a small but meaningful piece of independence.Hello Robot is working toward a future in which robots give people greater independence in their everyday lives.The California robotics company expresses that mission in two short phrases: “Robots with purpose” and “Technology with empathy.”Hello Robot’s Stretch platform has become a widely used tool for robotics research and development. But one of the clearest expressions of the company’s purpose can be found in its assistive robotics work with people with disabilities, older adults and their care partners.I recently spoke with Hello Robot co-founder and CEO Aaron Edsinger about the company’s path from the research lab into real homes.A robot designed around peopleStretch does not look like the humanoid robots currently attracting much of the robotics industry’s attention. It moves on a compact wheeled base. A vertical mast allows it to reach different heights. Its telescoping arm extends into the surrounding environment, while cameras and sensors help it understand what is happening around it.In one pilot Edsinger described, a person wanted to use Stretch to scratch an itch. In another, a participant wanted the robot to hold a drink so that a caregiver would not need to remain beside them throughout the process.“These are very simple tasks, but they’re achievable today,” Edsinger said. “And they provide immense value to the people who are working with the robot.”The value extends beyond completing the task itself. Each action gives one person greater agency while giving the care partner more freedom.Assistive technology is often evaluated according to what it can do for the person receiving care. Hello Robot considers the care partner part of the equation.Edsinger spoke about an aunt who is bedbound and alone at night. If she needs water, getting up without assistance could be dangerous.A robot does not need to function as a fully autonomous butler to help in that situation. It could bring a drink, connect her with a remote caregiver or allow someone to perform a safety check. Relatively simple capabilities could support the existing care network rather than attempting to replace it.Helping people age in placeHello Robot is also participating in research involving older adults and people with cognitive impairments.Researchers at the University of New Hampshire have placed a socially assistive version of Stretch in the homes of people with dementia and their care partners. The robot combines its onboard capabilities with smart-home sensors to provide reminders, support daily routines and monitor certain safety concerns.In one deployment, the robot helped remind a man with dementia to eat, drink, exercise and complete parts of his daily hygiene routine.Because the robot can move, it can bring its screen and reminders to the person at the appropriate place and time. A tablet left on a bedside table cannot do that if it has been misplaced, forgotten or left uncharged.The research remains at an early stage. Stretch is not yet a consumer caregiving product, and Hello Robot is careful not to present it as one.But home deployments help researchers understand what people genuinely need from a robot, what they will accept in their homes and which capabilities are reliable enough to create value today.For an older adult, that value could mean remaining at home longer. For a family member, it could mean being able to leave the house without constant worry. For a professional caregiver, it could mean having help with routine activities while preserving more time for human care.Why Hello Robot did not build a humanoidEdsinger has extensive experience with humanoid robots. He studied at MIT with Rodney Brooks, spent more than a decade working on humanoids and previously founded a humanoid robotics company. He later served as director of robotics at Google, where he began thinking seriously about what it would take to place robots in homes.His conclusion was that the industry needed a different approach.After seeing research from his longtime collaborator and eventual Hello Robot co-founder Charlie Kemp, Edsinger became interested in a minimal robot with a telescoping arm.“It has to be more like a Roomba with an arm than a large humanoid clomping around in your house,” he recalled.The company’s rejection of the humanoid form is closely connected to its assistive mission. A useful humanoid must be large and powerful enough to balance, reach counters and manipulate objects. That size, we