University and Small Business Collaboration for Undergraduate Research Projects in Healthcare Robotics

This paper will discuss the on-going research collaboration between a university's engineering technology department and an engineering research firm.The purpose and the reasons for this joint research project will be detailed from both the university's viewpoint and the small business viewpoint.This research project involves applying Social Assistive Robotic technology to reducing in-home healthcare costs which continue to rise.The project focuses on interfacing commercially available physiological sensors, such as for blood pressure or heart rate, with a mobile robotic platform that is equipped with a conversational interface.This conversational interface will engage the user to remind them of measurement times, reschedule times as required, and provide feedback and encouragement all done in a conversational manner.This is done to keep the user involved and participating in their healthcare and their well-being.This is necessary because a program of continually monitoring one's own healthcare parameters can become very tedious and the temptation to forgo the monitoring process begins to grow as time progresses.Collaboration on this type of research project between industry and a university provides undergraduate students with the opportunity to participate in real-world research that can have wide ranging impact on healthcare.This type of hands-on development and testing experience can build a foundation for a student's career.This paper will examine the details of the research project, the advantages of such a partnership and the benefits to the researchers and students of this type of affiliation.