Tagged: Technology

You may have never heard of a “haptic interface”, but chances are you use one every day.  When your cell phone vibrates in your pocket to tell you someone is calling – that’s a haptic interface.  The visual and audio design of new technologies tend to soak up attention from reviewers and users alike – but recent revolutions in haptics remind us there is another sense gadgets can use to communicate –touch. 

Nathan Hurst is a staff writer for Wired, where he recently wrote about the sensational future of the haptic interface.

This past fall we spoke with Robert Ito about the growing phenomenon of human-robot bonding. His article "The Love Bot" was featured in Pacific Standard Magazine. From C-3PO to WALL-E, the loveable robot has long inhabited popular imagination. Robots like the Japanese made "Paro," pillow pets, and vacuum cleaning Roombas are engineered to be social.

Today when dogs do a disappearing act, infrared cameras, tracking devices, and social media help owners keep tabs on wandering pets. These security technologies are a growing part of the 56-billion dollars spent annually on America’s pets.

Last week, the FDA approved the first self-navigating communications robot for use in hospitals. The RP-Vita which stands for remote presence virtual independent telemedicine assistant – was created by iRobot and In-Touch. The FDA sanction for the self-guided robot could mark a new era of robotic care in hospitals here in the United States.  Joining us with more on how RP-Vita works is Marcio Macedo, Director of Product Management for iRobot’s remote presence business unit.

The best and brightest segments from our daily program.

The non-profit Code for America brings together coders, artists, and designers to create easy to use applications that address the specific needs of local communities.  Mick Thompson, engineer in residence and 2012 fellow at Code for America joined us to talk about how code and collaboration leads to better lives for citizens.