Science Fiction
Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
 |
Simroid Robot Dental Patient Zombie Oral Prophylaxis
Simroid is a robotic dental patient to be used for training dentists. Simroid is able to follow verbal instructions from the trainee dentist, and can react in a human-like (eerie, but human-like) way to mouth pain. As you can see in the video below, she plays her part very convincingly.
(Simroid video)
Simroid's realistic appearance is due to her air-powered muscles and soft silicone skin; she shares these characteristics with Actroid, the well-known receptionist android. Both of these fembots owe their existence to Kokoro Company, Ltd.
(Simroid says "ahh...")
Simroid has a number of special features that distinguish her from her sister; she has a mouth loaded with sensors to provide feedback to her students. To express pain after an unfortunate poke, Simroid grimaces, moves her hands and eyes and says "That hurts." If the student dentist pokes an instrument too far down Simroid's throat, she exhibits a gag reflex. Although Simroid does not have as many facial expressions as EveR2-Muse, the South Korean humanoid robot, or the gesturing range of Repliee Q1, she seems successful in conveying discomfort.
The intent is to provide students with some training in a context that emphasizes treating the patient as a person (and not just a set of teeth).
Simroid's sensors are not limited to her mouth. In the event that a young dentist has read about how we will soon be marrying robots, and jumps the gun a bit with Simroid, she has a sensor on the breast area that keeps track if she has been touched inappropriately.
I do believe that Simroid and robots like her will have an increasingly important role in training health care professionals. However, I'm not sure whether I want my dentist trained to work best with patients that are not quite human.
Via Humanoid robot teaches dentists to feel people's pain.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 11/29/2007)
Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |
Would
you like to contribute a story tip?
It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add
it here.
Comment/Join discussion ( 1 )
Related News Stories - (" Medical ")
NEO Brain Computer Interface (BCI)
'The remains of the lace took on the rough shape of a brain...' - Iain Banks, 2010.
MIT Computerized Bionic Leg Is Part Of The User
'The leg was to function, in a way, as a servo-mechanism operated by Larry’s brain, through the mediation of the electronic brain in the leg.' - Charles Recour, 1949.
Bone-Building Drug Evenity Approved
'Compounds devised by the biochemists for the rapid building of bone...' - Edmond Hamilton, 1932.
BrainBridge Concept Transplant Of Human Head Proposed
'Briquet’s head seemed to think that to find and attach a new body to her head was as easy as to fit and sew a new dress.' - Alexander Belaev (1925)
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
Current News
Meta's Horizon Studio's Unique Avatars From Text Prompts
'Looks like she has bought the Avatar Construction Set and put together her own...'
VaMEx Biomimetic Mars Robot Inspired By Skink
'Across the ground something small and metallic came, flashing in the dull sunlight of midday.'
NEO Brain Computer Interface (BCI)
'The remains of the lace took on the rough shape of a brain...'
Did Frank Herbert Predict E-Ink Displays?
'A broken circle with arrows pointing to a right-hand flow appeared in the chalf.'
Monolith One Giant Industrial Metal 3D-printer
'The object seemed melted together like wax — nothing was distinguishable.'
'Mooncrete' Lunar Regolith Concrete (LRC)
'And here they began to build...'
China's 'Magpie Drone' Ornithopter
'Midges have many capabilities. To the untrained eye, they look like sparrows.'
MAI-Voice-2 Microsoft Text-To-Speech
'I made disks of my own voice to the number of five hundred very carefully chosen words.'
Tumblin' Tumbleweed Rovers To Eplore Mars
'His sensors out and working, and the whirring of the tape that sucked up sight and sound and shape and smell and form...'
Tentacled Robot Captures Space Debris
Preventing annoying space debris build-up.
Prufrock-MB2 Ready In Nashville
'It sounds to me as though you had invented a kind of metal earthworm.'
DIY Robotic Content Farming
'The chief wheeled to the master machine and pressed a button.'
Reflect Orbital Sunlight On Demand
'I don't have to tell you about the seven two-mile-diameter orbital mirrors that circulate around the satellite, making it habitable.'
The Amazing Lightfoot Electric Scooter With Solar Assist
'The steel tortoise gave MacKinnon a feeling of Crusoe- like independence.'
Fully Electric, Fully Automated Vegetable‑growing Agribots
'...then back to their work, though little enough it was on these automatic cultivators.'
Vero Robotic Dog With Vacuum Cleaner Feet
'Out of warrens in the wall, tiny robot mice darted.'
