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U.K. Lab's Robots Care for Elderly -- Second Sign of Robocalypse, Check

by Lee Bains on November 8, 2010 at 03:10 PM

mobiserv robotAs our fearless Jon Chase noted mere days ago, the robots will conquer the world by first earning the trust of our children and old folks. As befits the country that brought smallpox to our northeastern shores, a laboratory in Bristol, England is developing the race of robo-nurses that will inevitably turn hospices into hostage situations.

A joint project between the University of Bristol and the University of the West of England, the Bristol Robotics Laboratory is hard at work on Mobiserv, a robot that can help elderly people tend to their everyday business (e.g., taking medication, grocery shopping, etc.). With a £3.5 million ($5.6 million) grant from the European Union, some Brits, and some citizens of the six other countries involved, believe that the project will buttress Europe's ailing health care system.

While our health care system could use some serious help, too, robots do face one hurdle stateside that they don't in Europe: Granny's got a gun, and she don't like the way that tin can over there is looking at her.

Tags: ai, BristolRoboticsLaboratory, elderly, health, medical, mobiserv, robot, robotapocalypse, top

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