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SeeMore, a communication robot purchased by MECA Eye and Laser Center prepares for his spot on “Live at 9” at the Peabody Place Mall.

What’s tall and metal and green all over? No, it’s not a comic book villain; it’s the newest member of the team at Memphis Eye & Cataract Associates (MECA), a robot named SeeMore. In June, MECA president, ophthalmologist Dr. Jerre Freeman, introduced a communication robot specially designed for human communication. SeeMore was manufactured by International Robotics, Inc., (IRI) a technology company pioneering the field of technology-to-people behavioral psychology. IRI’s mission is to assist future industries with human-like behavior in Artificial Intelligence (AI) machines that will inevitably co-habit with humankind. This robot is only one of three communication robots of this kind in the United States, bought for permanent residence to be used in a community, which makes SeeMore a unique attribute for Memphis.

Freeman has long been interested in communication robotic technology and purchased SeeMore in an effort to provide Memphis with a goodwill ambassador for outreach purposes within the community. While plans for SeeMore are still in preliminary stages, Freeman expects to use the robot in a variety of capacities as an interactive tool to build bridges between worthy community projects and the public, such as those in healthcare and education.

“We don’t want to keep it to ourselves. We got it for the city,” Freeman said. “This is a powerful tool that has overflow effect for the community.”

“Machines have the ability to supply therapeutic behavior,” explained International Robotics CEO, Robert Doornick. Inspired by the work of Isaac Asimov, and a strong desire to develop technologies that remove the barriers in human interaction, Doornick developed this company 30 years ago with the intention of advancing the complex science of communication into the technological age.

As a child, Doornick said he was a poor student, and by today’s standards would have been diagnosed with attention deficit disorder because he had trouble paying attention. But, he pointed out, “I devoured books that interested me. My problem was boredom.”

“The truth is, the teacher may explain something to 20 people but everyone understands things in their own way,” continued Doornick. “I swore someday I’d build a company for special education.”

Decades of research into behavior psychology between humans and technology, and extensive observation of human behavior around interactive intelligent machines has yielded strategies for maximizing communication value, human-to-human and human-to-technology. For instance, typically people regard communication technology as non-threatening, which makes it easier for people to let down their defenses with a robot. Human voice is also vital since people tend to respond negatively to an automated, digital-sounding voice.

These “Techno Mascots” as they are coined, have been used in special education, working with children who have learning disabilities and autism. The reason robots work with these children comes from the fact that the robots provide, Doornick explained, “The ability to bond with people without them being suspicious of their motives.”

Communication robots are also excellent entertainment and promotional tools for business, politics and movies. IRI leases and sells robot models throughout the world for various events, showcases and a few have even appeared in Hollywood movies.

“Most appliances are intellectual machines,” said Doornick. “The future is now. We are just a blink away in our evolution from artificial intelligence being our main service instrument.”

Long term, Doornick added, he hopes to see the technology evolve into “technological psychologists,” he said. “We are programming intelligent machines for a successful society.”

SeeMore is an IRI-3000 unit, an adult size, mobile, roll-around robot that has been modified with Freeman’s preferences for use in outreach efforts. It requires human operation by specially trained technicians, some of whom were trained in June with Doornick, and others to be determined for future uses.
Operators, who can be entertainers, actors or even office staff, use the robot to create the personality, mimicking human speech, idiosyncratic behaviors, or to simulate human emotions, as well as unpredictability factors of human-to-human interactions.

This technology makes use of the latest advances in manufacturing, engineering and design, and has a proprietary miniaturized, microprocessor-assisted and fully concealed wireless remote-control system. This enables operators to transparently operate the characters in full view of unsuspecting audiences, from as close as two feet or as far as 200 feet away. The IRI-3000 unit also comes with a passenger-carrying platform that enables the robot to offer rides or dances.

MECA introduced SeeMore to Memphis in June with a special spot on WKNO and a visit to St. Jude Children’s Research Center. Freeman’s staff commented on their surprise at seeing very ill and weak children reaching out to touch and play with SeeMore. SeeMore was also a big hit at MECA’s welcoming reception in June, where he conversed with guests, told jokes and danced with various patrons while music played through his own speakers.

“Patient/physician communication is built upon trust,” Freeman said. “First barriers have to drop. (Robotic technology) can remove those barriers.”

Freeman fully intends for SeeMore to be utilized beyond his work at the clinic because, he indicated, the possibilities are, “bigger than we are.” It is hoped that the robot can be utilized in areas such as the school systems, healthcare facilities, the University of Memphis, and many other areas of the city.



July 2008

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