UK Science Minister Sam Gyimah during a tour at Imperial College London, was introduced to some technologies designed to improve the health of patients as well as save more lifes.
He was shown a cartoon-like robot designed to improve learning and emotional understanding of children living with autism.
The cartoon-like robot uses face recognition to tell if a patient is depressed or not.
The cartoon-like robot whiles conversing with Science Minister requested he to makes a face, this was in line with the what the robot had been tasked to do.
Pleased with what he saw, Mr. Gyimah mentioned that it was his first conversation with a robot.
Professor James Sterling expressed how proud their institution is to have the Minister visit.
He also explained that, because of the programming, the robots displayed the same facial expressions and gestures in every interaction.
Researchers however, believe this consistency may be the key to helping young children with autism to learn the different facial expressions and gestures people use to display their emotions.
He mentioned that, the minister was also introduced to other innovations like the Iknife which can tell surgeons immediately whether the tissue they are cutting is cancerous or not.
The new Science Minister Sam Gyimah announced that UK will provide £70 million of funding for the creation of new manufacturing centres to help speed up the development of new medicines.
According to him, it will create innovative medical solutions, including the use virtual reality to aid rehabilitation and investing in digital speech therapy solutions for stroke and brain injuries.
The government’s investment in high tech medical research will in turn boost jobs, enhance the NHS and ensure better care for people when they are unwell.
