Hanson Robotics is launching a new medical prototype known as “Grace” after their robot Sophia captivated audiences around the world in 2016. Grace is designed to help those in the healthcare world and interact with individuals who feel isolated during the global pandemic.
Grace presents human-like features with a comforting demeanor, a blue nurse’s uniform, and collar-length brown hair. She also has a thermal camera in her chest to take temperature and measure responsiveness and can speak English, Mandarin, and Cantonese.
“Grace’s resemblance to a healthcare professional and capacity for social interaction is aimed at relieving the burden of front-line hospital staff overwhelmed during the pandemic,” founder David Hanson said.
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The robot has 48 facial muscles that she can actively stimulate like a normal human being, and can diagnose patients using artificial intelligence. Grace is also infused with Asian features to resemble soft anime characters for an approachable appearance.
“I can visit with people and brighten their day with social stimulation … but can also do talk therapy, take bio readings and help healthcare providers,” Grace told Reuters in the Hanson Robotics workshop.
According to David Lake, chief executive of the joint venture between Hanson Robotics and Singularity Studio, plans to make a mass-production version of Grace is intended to be accomplished by August 2021. There are plans to fully station the robots next year in locations throughout Hong Kong, China, Japan, and South Korea.
