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The best way to predict the future is to co-create it

Nursing in the not-too-distant future – 2019 Marion Woodward Lecture

 

The keynote speaker for the 51st Marion Woodward Lecture was Dr Richard Booth, Associate Professor in the School of Nursing at Western University.

 

While Kuri, a companion-type robot, wandered about taking pictures of people’s ankles, her* owner, Dr Booth, asked us to imagine embedding these simple robot bodies with a Google Home or Siri brain.

Mario Gregorio demonstrates Casper, the cuddly robotic seal employed to calm and brighten the spirits of the elderly and people with dementia.

“The next generation of robots will have more functional bodies and enhanced artificial intelligence. “Cobots” (collaborative robots) will be healthcare colleagues that fetch items, carry out simple routines, retain information, and relay communications between patients and health professionals. 

Representatives from the Emerging Media Lab explained the resources available to UBC researchers and educators in current techniques (right). Guests were eager to try out displayed technologies such as the virtual and augmented reality units, to demonstrate their own devices used for both mobility and communication, and to generally enjoy the refreshments and company (below).