Robot gloves will soon help people with reduced mobility
One thing is already clear today: In addition to many opportunities, the future also brings many challenges for us. One of these is demographic change, which is causing society to get older and older, a change that is still current in Germany. Mobility often decreases with age, and many seniors suffer from problems in muscles and joints. New technologies could bring about a change here.
Specifically, today it is about a Scottish biotech start-up that has developed a robot glove. Co-founder Ross Hanlon found out some time ago that his aunt had little strength in her hands because of multiple sclerosis. Even drinking water quickly becomes a problem here. Hanlon considered how technological advances could help his aunt.
The result is the robot glove mentioned at the beginning. This uses artificial intelligence that uses electromyography (EMT) to detect whether a person wants to grab an object. It measures the electrical activity that the nerve sends to the muscle. If the algorithm detects such an activity, the wearer of the glove is supported in holding the respective object.
A sensible investment in the future, the number of patients who have problems with their hands is increasing every year. Symptoms of diseases such as motor neuron disease and carpal tunnel syndrome could be alleviated this way.
The first prototype of the robot glove is already available. The company hopes to start series production as soon as possible. The support of the Incubator of the Edinburgh Business School should make it possible. People with restricted mobility could thus regain a bit of quality of life.
Own opinion:
We live in the 21st century, so it is high time to use the opportunities available to us more and more to do something good. It is amazing to see how people who are directly or indirectly affected by disease are finding new ways and methods to improve our everyday lives. It is clear that there are financial interests here too, which is probably why research in this area is increasingly lucrative.
via The Next Web
