On July 21st, 2015, President Barack Obama welcomed a telepresence robot into the White House for the first time. Robotics tend to become an integral part of our daily life. In the near future, several applications will be developed for our comfort, especially on the Silver Economy area.

A telepresence robot to the White House to emphasize disabilities’ challenges

On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the American Disability Act, Barack Obama welcomed Alice Wong, who is the founder of Disability Visibility Project, into the White House. This was however not a face-to-face regular meeting: the American president and Wong talked through a telepresence robot. It was the first time a robot stepped “foot” into the White House.

President Obama greets Alice Wong, Disability Visibility Project Founder, via robot before a White House reception to mark the 25th anniversary of the Americans Disabilities Act.

A post shared by Pete Souza (archived) (@petesouza44) on Jul 20, 2015 at 5:58pm PDT

Wong recently partnered with StoryCorps to make a series of interviews with disabled people via a telepresence robot, in order to mark the Act’s anniversary and to emphasize the challenges disabilities still face nowadays.

Robotics is a leading sector in Silver Economy

The challenges of the ageing population process are many. To face them, innovative solutions must be found for the wellbeing of the elderly. Telepresence robots are conceived in order to facilitate the elderly’s autonomy and for them to stay at home for as long as possible. In order to do so, many robots were created, like Buddy on the French market, Nao or the therapeutical baby-seal shaped robot, Paro.