We havent quite reached the Jetson age of personal robots to do all of our work around the house. There are still quite a few developments in robotics, however, that affect humans in our day to day lives, although we might not recognize them as such. The robots in real life are not generally manufactured to look like people, but they nevertheless carry out many functions that would be dangerous or difficult for a human to do.

One area where the use of robotics has advanced considerably is that of healthcare. Robotics are now used in many areas of healthcare, including surgery, home care, and hospital processes.

In surgery, the advancement of robotics has made the surgical process easier on both the patient and the surgeon. Robotic intelligence and precision have combined to eliminate human limitations. Robotic surgery allows a surgeon to navigate to the area of operation with minimal cutting, ensuring both a less invasive procedure and a faster recuperation time. Robotic surgery also allows for more precise placement of tools within the surgical area, minimizing the risks of slippage or error.

In home healthcare, the current focus is largely on human labor. The aging population of baby boomers has already put a strain on the home health care situation which is only going to increase in the next ten to twenty years. Already, many home health care providers are feeling the strain of an industry that is increasingly becoming an employees market, where the supply of qualified health providers simply does not meet the demand.

In order to fill this void, there are many research projects underway in the field of home health care robotics. Some of the areas include telenursing for those in need of remote home care, mobile health status monitoring, home health diagnosis equipment, mobility assistance for bedridden patients, and auditory and visual assistance for the elderly (http://web.mit.edu/afs/athena.mit.edu/user/a/s/asada/www/workshop.html). The completion and implementation of these ideas will revolutionize the home health care industry, both in terms of individual capacity and in expense.