RP-VITA, Dr. Roboto - Remote Control Telepresence Healthcare

Intouch Health, a company founded in 2002, provides remote presence solutions for health care, in the form of robots.

The latest robot developed by Intouch Health is RP Vita. It has environmental awareness that allows it to move around a hospital without bumping into people or things. The doctor controls the robot through the use of an iPad by pointing to where it should go. The patient sees the doctor's head displayed on a screen perched on the top of the robot, as depicted in the picture below:

It sounds a bit strange, but these robots are in many hospitals, and are useful in rural areas where there are few medical specialists.  

The presentation below explains the key points of the use of tele-robotics in medicine:

RP-VITA: A Glimpse at the Future of Healthcare Delivered Today: WIRED Health Conference, 10/16/12
Yulun Wang: Meet Dr. Roboto, Your New Bedside Caregiver from WIRED on FORA.tv

iPad: A couple of good articles about the enchanting tablet, via WIRED

I thought I'd share links to two articles about the iPad, a tablet that is enchanting millions around the globe: 


Nobody Needs a Tablet.  So Why Are We Gobbling Them Up?
Brian X. Chen,  WIRED Gadget Lab, 3/24/11


"Indeed, it turns out that a tablet needn’t do everything that a more powerful PC can, according to multiple research studies on iPad usage. Rather, the tablet’s main appeal lies in the approachable touchscreen interface that just about anybody at any age can pick up and figure out...That’s the genius of the blank slate — with nearly 400,000 apps that allow the iPad to become a toy, a TV, a medical tool for doctors, a notetaker for students and more, it caters to an extremely broad audience." -Brian X. Chen


iPads Are Not A Miracle for Children With Autism
Daniel Donahoo, WIRED GeekDad, 3/22/11


" ...the potential of the iPad is not achieved by the iPad alone, nor by simply placing it in the hands of a child with autism. The potential of the device is realized by the way professionals like speech pathologists, educators, occupational therapists and early childhood development professionals apply their skills and knowledge to use the iPad to effectively support the development of children. The potential is realized by engaged parents working with those professionals to explore how the device best meets the individual needs of their child." -Daniel Donahoo


(I have a few thoughts about the iPad of my own that I'll share in a future post.)

WIRED's Gallery: Eight Tablets That Aren't Made by Apple; HP Slate video teaser)

The following thumbnails are from a recent article in WIRED:
Gallery: 8 Tablets That Aren't Made by Apple
Priya Ganapati, Wired, 4/16/2010



Web, Flash & Air on Slate Device from HP:



The HP Slate would be very useful in education, especially for students working in pairs or small groups during activities such as digital storytelling, "kid-reporting", and so forth!

iTablet, iSlate? No! It's called the iPad. (Updated)

Update:  Wired's coverage of the iPad event.

I would have to take a week off from my regular day job to follow up on the iPad chatter, which is not possible. In the meantime, here are a few links for those of you who want to be on top of the iPad brouhaha:

Editorial:  Engadget on the Apple iPad -Nilay Patel
Would You Buy and iPad?  Wired Readers Weigh In -Priya Ganapati, Wired Gadget Lab
The iPad and publishers: a survey of early reaction -Mat Slocum, O'Reilly Radar
iPad Technical Specifications -Apple
iPad Design -Apple (you can access the iPad video from the iPad Design page)
The iPad and publishers: a survey of early reaction -Mat Slocum, O'Reilly Radar
15 reasons why the iPad is no game-changer -Davey Winder, DaniWeb
Apple iPad First Hands On -Gizmodo
Update 1/28/10 5:50 PM:
Checkmate: Apple's iPad and Google's Next Move -Mark Sigal, O'Reilly Radar

Apple Info
iPad Technical Specifications -Apple
iPad Design -Apple (you can access the iPad video from the iPad Design page)
iPad Features -Apple
Steve Wonsiak Talks iPad (Video) via TechCrunch
"I don't see it having a role in video editing or music production"- Steve Wonsiak

Hopefully the iPad would support basic video editing and music production, since I use digital video storytelling/social stories and music in my work with students who have autism or other complex special needs. Some of my students help to create content, and despite their limitations, can understand and use storyboarding in this process.

Comment:  There are quite a few jokes circulating around the web about the name of this new product.  For the males (I'm assuming) who named the iPad, I'll give you a hint.  Half of the population knows that "pad" is what we call an important feminine hygiene product.