Can Robot Dogs Help People with Alzheimer’s?

机器狗能陪伴老年痴呆症患者吗?

 

Could a robot dog help people with Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia?

 

机器人狗能帮助患阿尔茨海默氏症和其他痴呆症患者吗？

 

American entrepreneur Tom Stevens thinks so. He recently presented a test version of a yellow Labrador puppy to residents of a nursing home in the American state of California.

 

美国企业家汤姆·史蒂文斯认为可以。他最近向美国加利福尼亚州一家疗养院的居民展示了一只测试版黄色拉布拉多犬。

 

To develop the device, Stevens’ company Tombot worked with Jim Henson’s Creature Shop, a company established by the famous creator of the Muppets.

 

为了开发这一设备，斯蒂文斯的Tombot公司与吉姆·汉森的生物商店合作，这家公司是由著名的布偶创作者创办的。

 

“It didn’t just have to look real and feel realistic but it had to behave realistically as well,” Stevens said about the robot puppy.

 

史蒂文斯在谈到这只机器狗时说：“它不仅外形逼真、触感真实，而且行为动作都必须表现得很真实。”

 

Stevens believes the Tombot dog, which moves its head from side to side and wags its tail, can help people with dementia. It also is easier to care for than a real dog, he said.

 

史蒂文斯相信，Tombot的宠物狗可以帮助痴呆症患者。这种机器狗可以左右摆动头部和尾巴。他说，这种机器狗也比养一只真正的狗容易。

 

The robot has 16 motors to control its movements and has sensors that cause it to respond to voice commands and detect how people are touching it.

 

该机器狗有16个发动机控制肢体运动，内置的传感器使它对语音命令做出反应，以及检测人们是如何抚摸它的。

 

Stevens said he came up with the idea for the robot after his mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2011.

 

史蒂文斯说，他的母亲在2011年被诊断出患有阿尔茨海默氏症后，他就萌生了制造机器狗的想法。

 

“Of the many bad days that we had early on, by far the worst was when I had to take away her dog,” Stevens said.

 

史蒂文斯说：“在早期许多糟糕日子里，最残忍的是我不得不把她的狗带走。”

 

Stevens had a background in investing in robotics and he wondered whether the technology could help people like his mother.

 

史蒂文斯有投资机器人的背景，他想知道这项技术是否能帮助像他母亲这样的患者。

 

His test version has the name “Jenny.” The puppy cannot walk and is carried on a small bed.

 

他的测试版宠物狗叫“珍妮”。这只小狗不会走路，只能待在一张小床上。

 

At the Sage Mountain nursing home in Thousand Oaks, where many residents suffer from dementia and other memory-related illnesses, petting the robot put smiles on people’s faces during a visit last month.

 

在千橡市圣贤山养养院，许多居民都患有痴呆症和其他与记忆有关的疾病。上个月，在参观期间，抚摸机器狗让他们脸上露出了笑容。

 

Jenny has visited the facility a number of times.

 

珍妮已来过这家养老院好多次了。

 

“The dog is very interactive, the tail wagging, responding to them calling her name,” said Caroline Gibson, a spokeswoman for the nursing home. She added that it was “really amazing” to see the nursing home’s residents feel at ease.

 

这家养老院的女发言人卡罗琳·吉布森说:“这只宠物狗很会互动，它会摇尾巴，对主人叫它的名字做出反应。”她补充说，看到养老院的居民轻松惬意，感觉“真的很神奇”。

 

Tombot plans to have its first commercial sales of its robot dogs in 2020.

 

Tombot公司计划在2020年首次销售机器狗。

 

It will enter a robot dog market that includes Sony’s Aibo, among others.

 

它将进军包括索尼的Aibo在内的机器狗市场。

 

P&S Market Research estimates that the market for personal robots may reach over $30 billion by 2022.

P&S市场研究公司估计，到2022年，私人机器人市场可能会超过300亿美元。

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