Meet Huggable, your friend at hospital
They are gloomy and boring. Hospitals are the last place we want to be, but there are many kids who have to visit a hospital sometimes, and for those not-so-fun days there’s Huggable.
Using a robotic teddy bear, scientists have shown that social robots can boost the mood among hospitalised children and help them cope with stressful treatments.
![](http://new.mycoup.in/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/image-3.png)
This cuddly friend is there when these kids feel isolated or miss their school friends. Huggable is tablet-based plush teddy bear which is still in its formative stage but looking at the results of how the children in a Boston hospital reacted, it can be used in several treatment centres in the future.
These social robots create a more consistent presence throughout the day. They also help kids who don’t always want to talk to people, and respond better to having a robotic stuffed animal with them.
The robotic teddy bear is operated by a specialist in the hall outside a child’s hospital room. The specialist controls the robot’s facial expressions and body actions, directs its gaze, talks through a speaker that shifts the voice to a higher pitch to sound more childlike, and monitors the patient via camera.
Fun Fact
The first patented stuffed toy was a rabbit from Beatrix Potter’s stories, Peter Rabbit.
Rate Now