Blantyre LIFE, a ground-breaking care development which opened last year, has already forged an international reputation for pioneering increasingly sophisticated care and expertise in the heart of a community.

Several fact-finding missions have visited from overseas to see how technology is being used to make day-to-day living easier and safer, including service-users having the opportunity to learn how to live independently as possible in a tech-enabled homes.

Now, in a taste of things that could come, South Lanarkshire University Health and Social Care Partnership (HSCP) has welcomed the arrival of ARI, a ‘social robot’, with human-like characteristics.

Two weeks of research, supported by the National Robotarium, a world-leading centre for robotics and artificial intelligence (AI) at Heriot-Watt University’s Edinburgh campus, have been undertaken to gather feedback from health and social care staff on an early robot prototype that aims to assist people recovering after injury.

Professor Soumen Sengupta, Chief Officer of South Lanarkshire University HSCP, said “The foundation of our partnership is made up of the human compassion of the expertise of our staff.

“The presence of ARI  represents our commitment to both amplifying – not replacing – that expertise with latest technology and working with academic partners in a highly innovative space.

“It also characterises our dedication to helping shape emerging and existing opportunities that rapidly evolving technology could have for the future of health and care delivery.”

The research team is led by the Head of Human-Robot Interaction (HRI) at the National Robotarium, Professor Lynne Baillie.

Professor Baillie said: “We’re developing the ARI robot to support the self-management of rehabilitation by patients. The robot will offer verbal instruction and encouragement during exercise sessions as well as using its human-like limbs to physically demonstrate how to do exercises properly. We believe that this engagement can help empower patients to stick with their exercise regime and improve their overall wellbeing.”

While patients aren’t yet involved in the research, Carl Bettosi, a PhD student in Human-Robot Interaction at the Edinburgh Centre for Robotics, has been working closely with professionals at Blantyre LIFE to gather data which will inform future versions.

He said: “A key focus of our research is the ability of the robot to make some decisions autonomously and thus reduce the burden on healthcare staff. To do this, we will develop cutting-edge decision-making techniques driven by machine learning.

“It's amazing to come to a place like Blantyre LIFE and see how technology is being embraced and used alongside hard-earned human expertise and compassion. We hope to work with Blantyre again in the near future.”

You can see a full clip of Carl and ARI at Blantyre LIFE here: https://youtu.be/985Imjcsy7E