PBS高端访谈:空巢老人的好伴侣（在线收听）

JUDY WOODRUFF: A Northern Virginia startup company is using new technology, and a sense of humor, to care for the elderly.

The "NewsHour"'s Teresa Carey went to Fairfax, Virginia, to meet RUDY the robot.

TERESA CAREY: Olga Robertson has lived in her house for 57 years.

With a large Italian family, including two daughters and grandkids, Robertson's home has a lot of memories.

OLGA ROBERTSON, Virginia: I'm here by myself most of the time, but I feel comfortable here.

That's why I don't want to go into a home or anything.

TERESA CAREY: But despite being a spry 88-year-old, Robertson has an in-home caregiver who visits every day.

OLGA ROBERTSON: She helps me do a lot of things.

She will take me places, like to my doctor's appointments.

She even does word puzzles with me.

TERESA CAREY: In March, to supplement her home care assistant, Robertson was given the opportunity to try RUDY, a robot designed by Anthony Nunez, CEO and founder of INF Robotics, a Northern Virginia start-up.

Nunez hopes RUDY will help prolong seniors' independence.

He built in features where caregivers, emergency responders, or family can check in remotely through a Skype-like interface, hello, there you are. Hi, and steer RUDY through the home in search for the senior.

And, as with any technology, there is a learning curve.

Nunez created RUDY because of what he witnessed growing up.

ANTHONY NUNEZ, CEO, INF Robotics: My grandmother fell down when she lived alone up in Rhode Island and ended up losing her independence.

She ended up moving into my home.

And, as a teenager, I watched my mom take care of her.

And I kind of saw both sides of it at an early age.

I wanted to do something about it, because I know that situation is not uncommon.

TERESA CAREY: But Nunez and his creation RUDY have a sense of humor.

RUDY can tell jokes.

ROBOT VOICE: My first job was looking at an orange juice factory, but I got canned.

TERESA CAREY: Play games, and even dance the Jitterbug.

But for Robertson, the best feature is companionship.

OLGA ROBERTSON: You can talk to him all day, and he responds to you.

It was good to have somebody to have a conversation with.

Let's put it that way.

TERESA CAREY: A Brigham Young University study showed that when it comes to the impact on lifespan, loneliness is equal to smoking 15 cigarettes a day.

Other robots, such as PARO robot pets, or ElliQ, are similar to RUDY, providing companionship or relaying information between seniors and their caregivers.

Cliff Glier, CEO of SenCura, a non-medical home care agency, is one of the early adopters of RUDY.

CLIFF GLIER, CEO, SenCura: Older adults that live alone, having a robot overnight is less expensive than having a real caregiver stay awake and sit by their bedside.

TERESA CAREY: At $100 per day, Glier offers RUDY in conjunction with his home care services, using RUDY to check in on seniors through video chat.

CLIFF GLIER: We here at the office will check in to the home up to three times a day, and more if need, check in to make sure everything is OK.

Have you taken your medications?

Have you gotten up and walked around?

ROBOT VOICE: Oh, you look nice today.

OLGA ROBERTSON: Do I? Thanks.

CLIFF GLIER: We're checking in without having to drive over and send a caregiver in to ask those basic questions.

TERESA CAREY: Some evidence suggests that nothing replaces the human touch, but because recent generations are having fewer children, there could be a shortage of people who will be available to care for the growing senior population.

With four prototypes in use in the Washington, D.C. area, and more on back order in New York, San Diego and Boston, RUDY is an example of how robots could become a part of caring for seniors. For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm Teresa Carey in Fairfax, Virginia.

朱蒂·伍德拉夫：弗吉尼亚州北部的一家创业公司正利用新技术，融合幽默感，照顾老人。

NewsHour特蕾莎·卡蕾前往弗吉尼亚州费尔法克斯，探访了这位名叫鲁迪的机器人。

特蕾莎·卡蕾：欧嘉·罗伯森已在她这个家中住了57年。

这是一个来自意大利的大家庭，包括两个女儿和几个孙辈，罗伯森的家中布满回忆。

欧嘉·罗伯森，弗吉尼亚州：大部分时间我都是一个人住在这里，但我感觉很舒服。

这就是为什么我不想和其他家人同住或搬到任何地方的原因。

特蕾莎·卡蕾：尽管她精力充沛，但罗伯森已有88岁高龄，她家中有个照顾她的人，而且每天都会过来探望。

欧嘉·罗伯森：她帮我做了不少事。

她会带我去一些地方，比如带我去预约的医生那里赴诊。

她甚至还能和我一起玩字谜游戏。

特蕾莎·卡蕾：三月，为了填补她家庭护助的空缺，罗伯森获得了试用鲁迪的机会，鲁迪是一个机器人，由一家名为INF Robotics的弗吉尼亚州北部创业公司，首席执行官兼创始人安东尼·努涅斯设计。

努涅斯希望鲁迪能帮助老年人延长其独立生活的时间。

他建造鲁迪具有这些特点：护理者、紧急响应者或家人可以通过Skype式的接口，看到了，你好，远程观察老人状态，并引导鲁迪在家里寻找老人。

而且，和任何技术一样，鲁迪也存在学习曲线。

努涅斯创造了鲁迪，因为他目睹了成长中的一些事情。

安东尼·努涅斯，首席执行官，INF Robotics：我祖母曾经独自生活在罗得岛，有一次她摔倒了，因此最终她失去了独立生活的能力。

她最终搬进了我家。

作为一个十几岁的孩子，我看着妈妈照顾她。

我在很小的时候就看到了这件事的两面。

我想做点什么，因为我知道这种情况并不少见。

特蕾莎·卡蕾：但是努涅斯和他的作品鲁迪都很有幽默感。

鲁迪还能讲笑话。

机器人声音：我的第一份工作是照看一家橘子汁工厂，但我被罐装了。

特蕾莎·卡蕾：做游戏，甚至跳吉特巴舞。

但对罗伯森来说，它最棒的地方就是能够提供陪伴。

奥尔加·罗伯森：你可以整天跟他说话，他会对你做出反应。

有人能陪着聊聊天真是太好了。

让我们这样说吧。

特蕾莎·卡蕾：杨伯翰大学的一项研究表明，在对寿命的影响上，孤独等于每天吸十五支烟。

其他机器人，如帕罗机器人宠物，或依力克，都与鲁迪类似，他们陪伴老年人，并把老年人的情况告诉给他们的照顾者。

克里夫·格利尔是非医疗家庭护理机构SenCura的首席执行官，是最早一批启用鲁迪的人之一。

克里夫·格利尔，首席执行官，SenCura：对于独自生活的老年人，让机器人陪伴过夜比让其真正的照顾者保持清醒，坐在床边值夜，代价更低。

特蕾莎·卡蕾：格利尔每天为鲁迪的家庭护理服务支付100美元，用鲁迪通过视频聊天来查看老年人状况。

克里夫·格利尔：我们在办公室里，每天都会三次查看老人家里的情况，如果需要的话，还会更多，确保一切正常。

你吃药了吗？

你散步了吗？

机器人声音：哦，你今天看起来很漂亮。

奥尔加·罗伯森：是吗？谢谢！

克里夫·格利尔：我们不必开车过去，派一个看护人员去问那些基本问题，就能查看老人情况。

特蕾莎·卡蕾：一些证据表明，没有什么能取代人类的接触，但因为近几代人，所育的孩子数量越来越少，而老年人口越来越多，无暇照顾。

有四个机器人照顾者投入到华盛顿特区使用，更多的订单来自纽约、圣地亚哥和波士顿，鲁迪为机器人照顾老年人提供了一个范例。

PBS新闻一小时，我是特蕾莎·卡蕾，弗吉尼亚州，费尔法克斯报道。