Robots trained as carers and security guards

experts believe that Linda, a £25,000 robot who resembles a human-sized chess pawn, could be the perfect solution to one of the biggest hazards facing elderly residents in care homes: falls.

Not only could robots like Linda patrol corridors for 24 hours a day, providing much more continuous surveillance than any human, but they could save nurses valuable time by performing additional tasks such as carrying messages or escorting patients to appointments.

The project, known as STRANDS (Spatio-Temporal Representations and Activities for Cognitive Control in Long-term Scenarios) is focused on programming robots to learn about their environment and recognise when something is amiss.

A second arm of the project will see the robots deployed as security guards in office buildings, patrolling and picking up signs of unusual activity such as open windows or people moving around at night.

the telegraph