Wearable tech lends robot strength to Hampshire carers in pioneering project

Hampshire County Council are launching the first ever collaborative robots - or cobots - in the European care sector.

Working with a Japanese robotics developer, the council is providing robotic back-braces that help staff carry heavy weights.

Since February, staff have been using HAL Lumbar cobots, which provide support to the lumbar region of the back.

Using electrodes, cobots detect electrical signals between the wearer’s brain and their muscles and convert this into motion.

Councillor Liz Fairhurst, the county council’s executive member for adult social care and health said: ‘Through our partnership with PA Consulting, we are proud to be at the forefront of using technology in care to assist people to live as independently as possible. Our trial of cobots is all about our carers – kit which supports them and makes their job easier.

‘While we don’t yet know the extent to which cobots will help transform the delivery of care, early results are very promising, and I am increasingly confident that we will see them play an important role in supporting our care workforce both now, and into the future.’

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It marks the first use of the robots in the UK, according to Professor Yoshiyuki Sankai, President and CEO of Cyberdyne.

He said: ‘We’re looking forward to uncovering the potential it has to improve the delivery of care for carers and those who need support.’

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