Research Practice

The goal of this activity is for you to have a little practice on research.
You will look into the development process of a healthcare robot and to
identify its design features.

Each group will choose from the three examples bellow

Pepper Robot

A semi-humanoid robot which can detect emotions and can analyze

expressions and voice tones. Pepper can be used commercially, in the
home and in academia. Its ultimate purpose is to facilitate relationships,
have fun with people and connect people to the outside world.

Ingestible origami robot

A tiny robot that can unfold itself from a swallowed capsule. It is steered
by external magnetic fields and can remove swallowed button batteries
or patch wounds.

Medical Exoskeleton

Designed to help people with mobility disorders to be upright and mobile.

An exoskeleton is a wearable mobile machine that is powered by a
combination of technologies that allow for limb movements to increase
strength and endurance.
You should try to answer the following questions when thinking about
the development process:

• How has the robot developed over time?

• How has the robot been designed to meet the needs of the user?
• How has the designer considered human-robot interaction?

When you think about the design features:

• What is the level and behavior of autonomy?

• How is information exchanged?
• What is the structure of the human-robot team?
• What are the implications of HRI (Human-Robot Interaction) on the
design of robotics?
• What considerations have been identified to ensure patient safety,
control, operation, accessibility, and the level of autonomy?

What will you submit?

You will write two reports:

• A short report detailing a timeline of the development process of

the medical robot you chose. Your report should document its
progress from proof of concept through to commercialization. This
report should be no more than 300 words long.

• A summary in which you reflect on the design features of your

chosen robot. This report should have between 100 and 200
words.