Honda's new AI-powered robot helps sick kids through lengthy hospital treatments – and it’s working

Proof that AI isn’t always scary

News By Leon Poultney published 29 November 2024

• Haru encourages children to more enthusiastically react to their treatment
• Successful trial in Spain will lead to wider robot rollout
• Honda is looking at ways to expand its empathetic robot line-up

Honda is renowned for its quirky approach to robotics, demonstrating a wide remit of applications that span self-balancing motorcycles to innovative autonomous wheelchairs that can automatically adjust height so users can interact with others at eye-level.

Now it has added an AI-powered carer to that list, which has been introduced to a hospital in Seville, Spain, to help very sick pediatric patients through their treatments.

Dubbed Haru, the 12-inch desktop robot features dual screens, which act as both digital displays and eyes for better human-machine interaction, as well as an LED-infused base that doubles-up as a mouth.

It looks a little bit like a mash-up of a frog and Johnny 5 from legendary sci-fi movies Short Circuit – albeit minus the cool tank tracks that allowed Johnny to whizz around the place like a lunatic.

But underneath the cutesy exterior, Haru has played a very serious role in assisting and enhancing the lives of children undergoing long-term treatment in hospital.

According to Honda, 95% of young cancer patients became more actively engaged with their rehabilitation since trials began at the Virgen del Rocío University Hospital (HUVR) in 2021.

Packing numerous cameras and microphones, Haru harnesses the power of advanced AI to analyze the facial expressions and voice tones of patients and feedback accordingly. It can then use empathetic expressions and offer emotionally supportive responses to the children.

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