Researchers create robot to ‘catch’ the elderly

Researchers at Nanyang Technological University have created a robot balance assistant to help the elderly stand, sit, and catch them when they fall.

Lead researcher Wei Tech Ang came up with the idea to help his elderly mother. “She fell about 10 years ago...that’s a point when I started to have this idea of a robot to assist so that people don’t fall at home,” Ang said.

The vehicle, named Mister Bah, follows patients as they do everyday tasks. When it senses that a patient may fall, a harness prevents the accident. A trial involving 29 participants was incredibly successful: Mister Bah prevented every fall.

Former participants have even been asking when they can use Mister Bah again.

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