Pedia_Roid: Scientists Develop Accurate Child Robot that Vomits and Cries as New Training Tool for Medical Emergencies

Scientists and engineers from Tmsuk, a robotic company in Tokyo, have developed the world's first robot for medical emergency training. Dubbed the Pedia_Roid, this invention was designed to mimic a child who vomits and cries when sick or getting medical treatments.

According to the New York Post, Pedia_Roid can react and show pain like a human being. It can also respond to a medical procedure and replicate how a child may act or behave when undergoing dental treatment, based on the demo at the CES 2022 in Las Vegas.

Students of the Department of Orthodontics at Showa University have been learning and perfecting their skills using the robot, which is also used during their exams. The child-like creation was based on two previous models and incorporated other "abilities" like coughing and sneezing. It could also spit out saliva under the dentist's chair or kick and scream like any child when feeling pain or fear.

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Why Tmusk Developed Pedia_Roid

Tmusk said that creating the humanoid prototype was intended to serve as an opportunity for improving clinical training in medical schools. Aside from using Pedia_Roid in dental schools, it may also be helpful in "various fields of pediatric medicine, including emergency care," per the Daily Mirror.

The startup's CEO, Yuji Kawakubo, said that this doll might be useful for medical trainees who could experience a simulated intense medical situation where they can learn how to save a child's life under pressure. Medical students could only train and apply what they have learned using lifeless and motionless dummies in the past, but the Pedia_Roid is different because it is the "ultimate emergency simulator." 

"Pedia_Roid not only develops symptoms but also throws a tantrum, forcing students to hold it down while trying to treat the child," the CEO said.

The humanoid may also be customized with 24 different physical symptoms and reactions that link up to an online system and may be controlled with a mobile gadget. The device controls the doll's beating heart, replaceable teeth, and replenishable fake blood.

So far, the students who have been using the humanoid appreciate its lifelike features. The creators said that the patent for this invention is still pending, but Tmusk has more ideas for improving its prototype. However, some of the initial reactions to the demonstration in Las Vegas showed that its lifelike appearance and abilities could be too creepy for some. One spectator said it takes some time to get used to the robot. 

The iCub Robot

In 2008, the humanoid iCub was launched as a robot that mimics a 3-year-old. After some redesigns more than 12 years later, its creators have unveiled the iCub's teenage version, which is bigger, stronger, heavier, and more sophisticated than its predecessors in March 2022, per IEEE Spectrum.

Dubbed the iCub3, this robot, created by researchers at the Italian Institute of Technology (IIT), was meant to study human cognition and artificial intelligence. Initially, the iCub tested how small children learned and interacted with the environment.

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