To: Dr. Jason Ellis

From: Jodieann J. Stephenson

Subject: Review of the Robot presentation

Henrick Christenen presentation on robots in an age of mass urbanization, while discussing customizable products and 3 D printing in healthcare proved to be an interesting dialogue. The topic was very futuristic however it could have delivered better if the presenter’s mic was turned up to a better volume. I was fascinated by the slides on how researchers and developers want to create robots that will serve a purpose by making tasks easier and achievable. It was refreshing to learn how Hollywood has created a negative perception of robots because of movies such as the Terminator or iRobot, the word robot, now has many negative connotations. The presentation was very educational and I enjoyed learning about how life changing new robot technologies can be. Also, how interesting it would be to have robots that resemble humans and can facilitate human reactions and emotions. If these technologies were ever created it would completely change the world, not only just healthcare field. But until that day comes then humans and robots will continue to communicate with many restrictions. For many people, they still dread the days of robots overtaking humans but in reality that will never happen.

On many of the slides, there were acronyms without any explanation. For any random, individual who was in the audience would not have any inkling about the topic at hand. The presenter should be made aware that not many individuals are familiar with the topics and should offer callouts that aides the audience to understanding the topic. Many of the key points that were made in the presentation was a reminder of the simple requests that the aging population has which are similar to the needs of many. There will come a day that we will all age and not having anyone around to help with simple tasks such as trying to pick up the remote controller, pour yourself a cup of coffee or put on your eyeglasses or even take your medicine. Many of these tasks become harder as you age and to have a robot around to help would make it easier for the individual. Preferably to have a robot that resembles a person to become their assistant and help with these tasks. During the presentation, I never considered how important the psychology of having something that resembles a human or has humanistic characteristics plays a role in how we can relate to a certain object.

Another point that was made in the presentation was how the “baby boomers” population is becoming one of the most dominant generations in the U.S., which I thought the millennial generation held traction. This interesting “fact” made me think about in about 15 years my mother will be retiring and how different the technology and medicine will be. Perhaps there will be robots around to help, but what if there aren’t any robots around to help? What will happen to the car industries and the pharmaceutical industries?

Overall, in my humble opinion, I enjoyed the presentation, well the little that I saw. The presenter had a unique candor about him and how presentable and charismatic he was. However as for his presentation skills, I would rate it as a C partly because I could not hear many of the key points that he tried to allude to and for not clearly explaining how the acronyms. From a topics point of view, I really enjoyed learning about robots and the tremendous impact that they will have in the healthcare field. I hope I get to see their contributions in my generation however if not, I hope the next generation will be able to enjoy and can appreciate how impactful the robots will be in everyday life.