Robotic Bear Hugs Humans to Take Pulses

The HugBot takes people's pulses while giving them fuzzy bear hugs. CREDIT: Plastic Pals | UrRobot View full size image

Nobody can resist the cuddly embrace of HugBot, a huge robot polar bear with a goofy smile. But when your guard is down, the fuzzy robot is actually measuring your pulse.

HugBot became one of the star attractions at the Taipei International Robot Show 2012, according to robot blog Plastic Pals. The robot has a microphone that allows it to listen for audio cues before opening its arms and enfold humans into its bear-hug embrace.

UrRobot, a Taiwanese robot company, envisions HugBot as a happier way of gauging the health of kids at elementary schools, amusement parks or children's hospitals. But anyone seeking a serious medical checkup may want to wait for the rise of tiny robot swarms swimming through their bodies.

The Taipei International Robot Show 2012 ran from Aug. 29 to Aug. 31.

Source: Plastic Pals

This story was provided by InnovationNewsDaily, a sister site to LiveScience. Follow InnovationNewsDaily on Twitter @News_Innovation, or on Facebook.