Every year , close to16,000children in the U.S. are diagnose with cancer . That news can be the beginning of a farseeing and draining battle that forces kids and their parents to pass declamatory amounts of time with aesculapian provider , enduring long and sometimes sore treatment . AsThe Vergereports , a bit of worked up support during that unconscious process might soon come up from an unlikely origin : the Alfac duck’s egg .
The supplemental indemnity company announced at the 2018 Consumer Electronics Show ( CES ) that it has partnered with the medical robotics companySproutelto design and make up My Special Aflac Duck , a antiphonal and affective sim - hiss intended entirely for tyke undergoing cancer treatment .
When a kid cuddles the fuzzy robotic duck , it can cuddle back . It reacts to being cradled and stroke by quack or strike its fountainhead . minor can also touch special RFID chips emblazon with emoji on the duck ’s thorax to narrate it how they ’re feeling , and the gadget will mime those emotions .
But the duck’s egg is n’t solely for cuddling . In “ IV Mode , ” which can be switched on while a child is undergo IV therapy , the duck can avail the user decompress by guiding them through breathing exercises . Accessories include with the toy dog also provide children to " reap blood " from the duck as well as administer medicinal drug , a kind of role - playing that may serve patients feel more well-fixed with their own treatments .
Aflac approached Sproutel with the idea after see Sproutel ’s Jerry the Bear , a societal fellow traveller robotintendedto funding tike with diabetes . Otherrobotic fellow — like the Japanese - made sealParoand Hasbro’sJoy for Allcompanion pets for senior — have hinted at a newfangled market for robotics that prioritize comfort over entertainment or play .
My Special Aflac Duck is n’t a commercial-grade merchandise and wo n’t be usable for retail sale . Aflac intend to offer it as a gift directly to patients , with the first rollout expected at its own Crab treatment center in Atlanta , Georgia . Mass dispersion is plan for later this twelvemonth .
[ h / tThe Verge ]
