A calming robot seal for dementia patients

A robot called Paro – designed to look like a seal pup – has been shown to help dementia patients cope with anxiety and memory loss. Using artificial intelligence, the £5,000 robot can learn to respond to a name the patients give it, as well as sensing sounds, light and touch. It responds by opening its big eyes, squeaking and wiggling. Tests by the University of Brighton found the robots helped reduced stress and could be kept clean to meet hospital infection control requirements.