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年轻女工程师发明了一款机器人,目标是缓解医护倦怠

年轻女工程师发明了一款机器人,目标是缓解医护倦怠

David Meyer 2022-11-18
Diligent作为护士人员的助手,能够从事取药和实验室样本送检等后勤工作。

薇薇安·楚出生于一个工程师家庭。她的父母都是软件工程师,但他们的女儿并没有被屏幕上的0和1所吸引。直到后来她就读于加州大学伯克利分校(University of California, Berkeley),接触到机器人,她才开始对父母从事的领域产生兴趣。

她说:“当时我想:‘有意思;你可以用技术改变环境。’在那一刻,我开始喜欢上机器人,并变得痴迷。” 35岁的薇薇安·楚是Diligent Robotics公司的联合创始人及首席技术官,并登上了《财富》杂志2022年“40位40岁以下商界精英”(40 Under 40)榜单。

薇薇安·楚与她在佐治亚理工学院(Georgia Tech)的博士生导师安德里亚·托马斯于2016年创建了Diligent,公司总部位于美国奥斯汀。该公司开发的机器人Moxi正在陆续投放到美国的医院,包括洛杉矶著名的西达赛奈医学中心(Cedars-Sinai)和得克萨斯州圣安吉洛的香农医疗中心(Shannon Medical Center)等医院。Moxi作为护士人员的助手,能够从事取药和实验室样本送检等后勤工作。在它的协助下,医护人员可以专注于人类患者。外表光滑的白色人形机器人Moxi体现了薇薇安·楚的研究专业:人机交互,包括通信、知识传递以及机器人“理性判断”工作任务和从环境中学习的能力等。

说到自己开发医护机器人的过程,薇薇安·楚表示:“我一直在思考机器人的应用场景。它们在哪些场合能够产生最大的影响?还有我自己的个人经历:我曾经亲眼看着日益年迈的祖父母被送到养老院,父母为此承受了巨大的压力,我开始思考我们如何利用技术帮助人们优雅地老去,并保持自我意识。”

这确实是一个增长型业务。GlobalData的主题分析师杰迈玛·沃克称,2020年,护理机器人市场的规模达到1亿美元,预计未来将以每年42%的速度增长,到2030年达到41亿美元。沃克认为Diligent以及Zora Robotics、Omnicell和Focal Meditech是行业领导者。她说:“人口老龄化和人手不足令医疗体系陷入困境,医疗服务提供商将增加对有助于减轻负担的技术的投资。”

Diligent在今年4月结束B轮融资,融得约4,700万美元,由老虎环球基金(Tiger Global Management)领投。据Pitchbook披露,在该轮融资之后,该公司的估值为1.12亿美元。

薇薇安·楚入选《财富》杂志2022年“40位40岁以下商界精英”科技与创新类榜单。图片来源:COURTESY OF ALLEN KRAMER/DILIGENT ROBOTICS

多项研究显示,后勤工作会增加护士的负担,影响护士的时间安排。薇薇安·楚和托马斯发现了这些负担,于是创建了Diligent,并开始跟踪护士以评估她们的需求。

薇薇安·楚指出:“我们发现,护士几乎没有时间喝杯咖啡或者吃午餐,因此我们的目标是让她们有更多的时间来护理患者,或者可以有喘息的机会,从而让她们能够继续工作,避免出现倦怠。这是非常严峻的挑战。[Moxi]的目标是首先专注于不需要人类从事的工作,我想这也是目前许多机器人技术所关注的领域。”

Moxi可以用尖细的声音与护士交流,能够对患者挥手致意,并且知道如何使用电梯。人工智能驱动的机器人有一双可以眨眼的大“眼睛”,眼睛还能够变成爱心形状。机器人胸部有一块触摸屏,腹部有一个大抽屉。它可以从医院礼品商店的货架上取下物品,送到患者的病房。

但Moxi和它的后代(Moxi本身是Poli机器人的升级版,其外形更友好)会是什么样子?沃克表示,未来,护理机器人将“更像是同伴,而不是工具或助手”。但薇薇安·楚称,Moxi将维持目前的设定。

她说:“我们会告诉医护人员,我们会在病房划定界限,因为我们希望她们与患者进行人类之间的沟通。这并不是说机器人最终不会有其他有趣的应用方式,帮助处理其他任务,但不一定是在医疗领域或者健康相关领域,或许我们应该让机器人为病房送水或零食。我们发现,Moxi已经给患者们带来了一些快乐。护士们会要求Moxi:‘Moxi,去病房外面挥挥手。’”

尽管Moxi被限制在病房外提供服务,但它依旧有巨大的发展空间。目前,护士们需要帮助时必须呼叫Moxi,但薇薇安·楚表示,Diligent正在研究将病例和住院数据录入系统,使机器人能够更主动的运送物品,并且“可以出现在医院内需要它们的地方。”

薇薇安·楚已经获得了多项学术和职业荣誉:她曾经荣获谷歌安妮塔·伯格纪念奖学金(Google Anita Borg Memorial Scholar),并且被评为斯坦福大学电子工程与计算机科学明日之星(Stanford EECS Rising Star),经常在机器人技术会议上发表演讲。她不仅登上了《财富》“40位40岁以下商界精英”榜单,还在2019年荣获《麻省理工科技评论》(MIT Technology Review)的“35岁以下科技创新35人”(35 Innovators Under 35)奖项。

这位工程师将自己成功的部分功劳归结于她作为有色人种女同性恋者的身份。薇薇安·楚表示:“我感觉不同于其他初创公司创始人的背景,给了我很大的勇气。”她还补充道,Diligent高度重视多元化。

薇薇安·楚说:“为了创建一家医疗机器人公司,你需要具备机器人知识、医疗知识和经营知识,才能够让你的机器人投入实际应用。我们公司的员工有护士和临床人员。每个人都有非常精彩的背景,这让我们变得更优秀、更强大,并开发出更好的产品。对我而言,这是一个令人激动的过程。我希望我的经历可以激励更多的人创业,开发出精彩的产品。”(财富中文网)

译者:刘进龙

审校:汪皓

薇薇安·楚出生于一个工程师家庭。她的父母都是软件工程师,但他们的女儿并没有被屏幕上的0和1所吸引。直到后来她就读于加州大学伯克利分校(University of California, Berkeley),接触到机器人,她才开始对父母从事的领域产生兴趣。

她说:“当时我想:‘有意思;你可以用技术改变环境。’在那一刻,我开始喜欢上机器人,并变得痴迷。” 35岁的薇薇安·楚是Diligent Robotics公司的联合创始人及首席技术官,并登上了《财富》杂志2022年“40位40岁以下商界精英”(40 Under 40)榜单。

薇薇安·楚与她在佐治亚理工学院(Georgia Tech)的博士生导师安德里亚·托马斯于2016年创建了Diligent,公司总部位于美国奥斯汀。该公司开发的机器人Moxi正在陆续投放到美国的医院,包括洛杉矶著名的西达赛奈医学中心(Cedars-Sinai)和得克萨斯州圣安吉洛的香农医疗中心(Shannon Medical Center)等医院。Moxi作为护士人员的助手,能够从事取药和实验室样本送检等后勤工作。在它的协助下,医护人员可以专注于人类患者。外表光滑的白色人形机器人Moxi体现了薇薇安·楚的研究专业:人机交互,包括通信、知识传递以及机器人“理性判断”工作任务和从环境中学习的能力等。

说到自己开发医护机器人的过程,薇薇安·楚表示:“我一直在思考机器人的应用场景。它们在哪些场合能够产生最大的影响?还有我自己的个人经历:我曾经亲眼看着日益年迈的祖父母被送到养老院,父母为此承受了巨大的压力,我开始思考我们如何利用技术帮助人们优雅地老去,并保持自我意识。”

这确实是一个增长型业务。GlobalData的主题分析师杰迈玛·沃克称,2020年,护理机器人市场的规模达到1亿美元,预计未来将以每年42%的速度增长,到2030年达到41亿美元。沃克认为Diligent以及Zora Robotics、Omnicell和Focal Meditech是行业领导者。她说:“人口老龄化和人手不足令医疗体系陷入困境,医疗服务提供商将增加对有助于减轻负担的技术的投资。”

Diligent在今年4月结束B轮融资,融得约4,700万美元,由老虎环球基金(Tiger Global Management)领投。据Pitchbook披露,在该轮融资之后,该公司的估值为1.12亿美元。

多项研究显示,后勤工作会增加护士的负担,影响护士的时间安排。薇薇安·楚和托马斯发现了这些负担,于是创建了Diligent,并开始跟踪护士以评估她们的需求。

薇薇安·楚指出:“我们发现,护士几乎没有时间喝杯咖啡或者吃午餐,因此我们的目标是让她们有更多的时间来护理患者,或者可以有喘息的机会,从而让她们能够继续工作,避免出现倦怠。这是非常严峻的挑战。[Moxi]的目标是首先专注于不需要人类从事的工作,我想这也是目前许多机器人技术所关注的领域。”

Moxi可以用尖细的声音与护士交流,能够对患者挥手致意,并且知道如何使用电梯。人工智能驱动的机器人有一双可以眨眼的大“眼睛”,眼睛还能够变成爱心形状。机器人胸部有一块触摸屏,腹部有一个大抽屉。它可以从医院礼品商店的货架上取下物品,送到患者的病房。

但Moxi和它的后代(Moxi本身是Poli机器人的升级版,其外形更友好)会是什么样子?沃克表示,未来,护理机器人将“更像是同伴,而不是工具或助手”。但薇薇安·楚称,Moxi将维持目前的设定。

她说:“我们会告诉医护人员,我们会在病房划定界限,因为我们希望她们与患者进行人类之间的沟通。这并不是说机器人最终不会有其他有趣的应用方式,帮助处理其他任务,但不一定是在医疗领域或者健康相关领域,或许我们应该让机器人为病房送水或零食。我们发现,Moxi已经给患者们带来了一些快乐。护士们会要求Moxi:‘Moxi,去病房外面挥挥手。’”

尽管Moxi被限制在病房外提供服务,但它依旧有巨大的发展空间。目前,护士们需要帮助时必须呼叫Moxi,但薇薇安·楚表示,Diligent正在研究将病例和住院数据录入系统,使机器人能够更主动的运送物品,并且“可以出现在医院内需要它们的地方。”

薇薇安·楚已经获得了多项学术和职业荣誉:她曾经荣获谷歌安妮塔·伯格纪念奖学金(Google Anita Borg Memorial Scholar),并且被评为斯坦福大学电子工程与计算机科学明日之星(Stanford EECS Rising Star),经常在机器人技术会议上发表演讲。她不仅登上了《财富》“40位40岁以下商界精英”榜单,还在2019年荣获《麻省理工科技评论》(MIT Technology Review)的“35岁以下科技创新35人”(35 Innovators Under 35)奖项。

这位工程师将自己成功的部分功劳归结于她作为有色人种女同性恋者的身份。薇薇安·楚表示:“我感觉不同于其他初创公司创始人的背景,给了我很大的勇气。”她还补充道,Diligent高度重视多元化。

薇薇安·楚说:“为了创建一家医疗机器人公司,你需要具备机器人知识、医疗知识和经营知识,才能够让你的机器人投入实际应用。我们公司的员工有护士和临床人员。每个人都有非常精彩的背景,这让我们变得更优秀、更强大,并开发出更好的产品。对我而言,这是一个令人激动的过程。我希望我的经历可以激励更多的人创业,开发出精彩的产品。”(财富中文网)

译者:刘进龙

审校:汪皓

Vivian Chu was born into engineering—sort of. Her parents were software engineers, though their daughter was not captivated by ones and zeroes on a screen. It wasn’t until she attended University of California, Berkeley for undergrad and started messing around with moving parts that she got hooked on the family business.

“That was the moment where I was like, ‘This makes sense; you can actually have technology change the environment.’ That’s sort of the beginning of robotics for me, and from there I couldn’t get enough of it,” says Chu. Today the 35-year-old is the co-founder and chief technology officer at Diligent Robotics—and an honoree on Fortune’s 2022 40 Under 40 list.

Austin-based Diligent—which Chu co-founded in 2016 with her Georgia Tech doctoral supervisor Andrea Thomaz—has created a robot called Moxi that is being rolled out in American hospitals such as L.A.’s prestigious Cedars-Sinai and the Shannon Medical Center in San Angelo, Texas. Moxi is essentially a helper for staff nurses, performing logistical tasks such as fetching drugs and delivering lab samples. Its assistance lets human professionals keep their attention focused on their human patients. The humanoid, glossy-white Moxi embodies Chu’s research specialty: robot-human interaction, including communication, the transfer of knowledge, and ultimately the ability of robots to “reason” about what they do and learn from their environments.

“For me it was wanting to always think about, where should robots be? Where can they have the most impact?” Chu says of her path into health care robotics. “Also just personal experience: watching my grandparents age and having to go to a nursing home, watching my parents be stressed about that, and thinking about ways we can have technology help people age gracefully and maintain their sense of self.”

It’s certainly a growth business. The care robotics market that was worth $100 million in 2020 is expected to grow 42% annually to reach $4.1 billion in 2030, says Jemima Walker, a thematic analyst at GlobalData, who names Diligent alongside the likes of Zora Robotics, Omnicell and Focal Meditech as leaders in the field. “As health care systems struggle with both aging populations and staff shortages, health care providers will increasingly invest in any technology that can help ease the burden,” she says.

As of a Series B round that closed in April—with Tiger Global Management as the lead investor—Diligent has raised around $47 million. According to Pitchbook, the company was valued at $112 million after that round.

Logistical tasks drag on the workloads and schedules of nurses, according to numerous studies. Chu and Thomaz saw the burden for themselves when they founded Diligent and began shadowing nurses to gauge their needs.

“We see nurses barely have time to get a coffee or eat lunch, and so the goal really is to give them time to spend more time with their patients or just have a moment to breathe, just so they can continue and not burn out. That’s really the challenge,” Chu says. “The goal [of Moxi] is to focus on the things that no people should be doing to begin with, which is I think what a lot of robotics is focused on today.”

Moxi talks to nurses in a squeaky voice, waves to patients, and knows how to use an elevator. The A.I.-powered robot has large, blinking “eyes” that can turn into hearts. There’s a touchscreen on its chest and a large drawer where a stomach would be. It can pick items off the shelves of the hospital gift shop and bring them to patients in their rooms.

But where could Moxi and its successors (Moxi is itself a friendlier-looking, upgraded version of a robot named Poli) go from here? In the future, care robots will “act more as companions than as tools or helpers,” Walker says. But according to Chu, Moxi will stay in its lane.

“We tell staff all the time that we draw the line at the patient room, because we want them to spend their time with the patient and have that human interaction,” Chu says. “That’s not to say that eventually [there couldn’t] be interesting ways to have robots maybe help with some of the other tasks, but not necessarily with health care or health facing—maybe we should deliver some water or snacks to the patient room. We already see that Moxi brings a little bit of joy to patients by coming. Nurses will request Moxi: ‘Moxi, go outside the patient room and wave.’”

Even while keeping Moxi outside patients’ quarters, there is plenty of room for development. At the moment, nurses need to request Moxi when they want it, but Chu says Diligent is looking at integrating medical records and admission data into the system, so the robot can more proactively move items around and “things just appear in the hospital where they need to appear.”

Chu has already garnered several academic and professional accolades: she was a Google Anita Borg Memorial Scholar and a Stanford EECS Rising Star, and is a regular keynote speaker at robotics conferences. Apart from her spot in Fortune’s 40 Under 40, she also landed on MIT Technology Review’s 35 Innovators Under 35 in 2019.

The engineer attributes some of that success to her experience as a lesbian of color. “I feel like just having a different background from other startup founders has given me a lot of grit,” she says, adding that diversity is key at Diligent.

“To build a health care robotics company, you need robotics knowledge, health care knowledge, operational knowledge, to get robots out in the field. We have nurses and clinical staff at the company. Everyone has a really fascinating background and that just makes us better and stronger, building better products,” she says. “For me that’s been incredibly exciting, and I hope my journey can help inspire others to also lean into that and be able to build amazing things.”

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