How robots could be used to fight Ebola    

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TECH  TIMES                                               Nov. 9, 2014
Dianne Depra

With the Ebola virus claiming nearly 5,000 lives, it's understandable why the White House is now considering options outside of traditional means to help curb the outbreak, enlisting robot technology to join in the fight.

Officials gathered together specialists on Nov. 7, holding discussions at University of California, Berkeley, the Worcester Polytechnic Institute and Texas A&M University to talk about how robots can be utilized to aid health workers in West Africa.

The day was intended to inspire research committees in various sectors to assess how they may be able to take advantage of innovation and technology and assist the international effort against Ebola, according to the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.

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As more people die from the virus, robotics experts are looking for ways to enlist robots in the fight to contain Ebola in the coming months and years.

CNET                                                                                        Nov. 8, 2014

By Mariel Meyers

..UC Berkeley engineering professor Ken Goldberg envisions robots helping with specific tasks to keep humans out of harms way...

Goldberg wanted to be clear from the get-go that using robots in this health crisis will not be a magic bullet.

"People have an expectation that the robots are going to go in and do something dramatic." Goldberg explained. "The capabilities are limited right now. There's a lot of research that needs to be done. We just want to set expectations. This is not going to save the day. These are some tools that we hope will be useful in both the near term and long term...."

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