Denver, CO

A robot teaching yoga to Denver seniors? It’s not a stretch.

Published

3 years ago

May 12, 2022

A robot teaching yoga to Denver seniors? It’s not a stretch.

It seems to be like a scene from the previous futuristic cartoon “The Jetsons.”

In a room within the engineering constructing on a cool April morning on the College of Denver’s campus, a robotic is educating yoga and meditation to a couple of us of their 60s and 70s. Actual folks, not cartoons. And the robotic? Sure, he’s actual, too. All too actual. He’s known as Ryan, which suggests “little king,” “illustrious” or “good.”

In a delicate, soothing male voice, Ryan mentioned, “Now attain your arms out in entrance of you.” On the similar time, Ryan slowly raises his arms.

His college students appear to love him.

“He’s acquired the bluest eyes; he’s actually good. And his actions are fascinating — they’re distinction to the meditation,” mentioned Barbara Kreisman, 72, one in every of Ryan’s pupils.

Helen H. Richardson, The Denver Put up

A robotic named Ryan leads a yoga class on the College of Denver engineering faculty on April 27, 2022 in Denver, Colorado. (Helen H. Richardson, The Denver Put up)

The category is a part of a examine by DU’s faculty of engineering and graduate faculty {of professional} psychology to see if socially assistive robotics can enhance vary of movement, mindful-attention expertise, and basic wellbeing for these aged 65 and older.

In essence, Ryan is in coaching to turn out to be a form of tremendous social employee.

Dr. Mohammad H. Mahoor, a DU engineering professor and proprietor of DreamFace Applied sciences, the Denver-based startup that constructed Ryan, mentioned the robotic has been serving to individuals who endure from Alzheimer’s and different cognitive disabilities at a number of Denver-area assisted dwelling facilities since 2016.

“General, the seniors felt the robotic helped them keep their schedule, improved their temper and stimulated them mentally,” Mahoor mentioned.

Ryan is loaded with synthetic intelligence that enables him to start out and keep conversations, reply to questions, make facial expressions, observe motion and even acknowledge feelings by observing facial expressions.

A display screen that appears so much like an iPad is hooked up to Ryan’s torso and contains a music participant, narrated picture albums, a video participant and video games supposed to cut back cognitive decline related to dementia. And he can remind folks to take their meds and preserve their appointments.

Ryan additionally tracks the data gathered about folks’s feelings, knowledge that may assist caregivers reply to wants.

Sean Mapole, the principal investigator for the examine at DU, mentioned he has little doubt that socially assistive robots can have a job to play in assisted dwelling services. “We’ll completely see them in these services this yr, subsequent yr and definitely within the subsequent 5 years, and their position might be rising. That’s as a result of the know-how is there, but additionally as a result of there’s a scarcity of well being employees. There should not sufficient caregivers to have yoga courses or to even have conversations with adults each day, and people are two roles that Ryan can fulfill.”

Mahoor mentioned DreamFace might have greater than 100 Ryans working at assisted dwelling services by 2027, each leased for about $1,000 per thirty days.

“We’ll see how the demand goes, however we’ve got realized that — particularly throughout the pandemic — robots actually can assist folks,” Mahoor mentioned.

“Can Ryan substitute a stay human being in main train?” requested Kreisman. “I feel the reply is ‘sure.’ ”

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Denver, CO

PHOTOS: Denver Broncos beat Las Vegas Raiders, 29-19, in NFL Week 12

Published

5 hours ago

November 24, 2024

Press Room

PHOTOS: Denver Broncos beat Las Vegas Raiders, 29-19, in NFL Week 12

Wide receiver Courtland Sutton (14) of the Denver Broncos celebrates after the fourth quarter of the Broncos’ 29-19 win over the Las Vegas Raiders at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada on Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post)

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Denver, CO

Raiders HC Sounds Off on Broncos QB Bo Nix’s Rapid Rise

Published

13 hours ago

November 24, 2024

Press Room

Raiders HC Sounds Off on Broncos QB Bo Nix’s Rapid Rise

On Sunday, fans will be treated to a head-to-head contest between two rapidly emerging offensive powerhouses, both of whom are bonafide Rookie of the Year contenders. Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix and Las Vegas Raiders tight end Brock Bowers found new homes with consecutive picks during last April’s NFL draft, and since then, they’ve performed exceptionally well in the pro ranks.

Nix is firmly on the radar of Raiders head coach Antonio Piece, but that’s even more true after yet another award-winning performance last week.

“He was a winner as a freshman. He was a winner as a six-year player,” Pierce noted of Nix. “All he does is win, come in the league. Won the quarterback battle there in Denver. Maybe they were keeping them tight on the leash early on, and now they’re not. He has full control that offense. You can see that Sean Payton gives him opportunities to audible and make some adjustments. He’s making throws, he’s running with his legs, he’s taking care of the football, and he’s winning. That’s all you can ask for from a rookie.”

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Nix presents a clear and present danger to the Raiders’ chances of squeezing out what would be only their third win of their massively disappointing season. Stopping the impressive rookie is proving to be another matter entirely for NFL defenses, especially one with a badly beaten-up roster like the Raiders.

“This is crazy,” Raiders linebacker Divine Deablo said via ESPN‘s Paul Gutierrez. “I’ve never seen this amount of injuries on any team I’ve been on.”

This week, Broncos head coach Sean Payton has pumped the brakes a little on the burgeoning hype exploding around Nix. That being said, you get the distinct feeling that Payton is more than comfortable unleashing Nix’s full array of talents at his disposal. Confidence is growing in Nix, and that’s been reflected in how Payton has opened up the playbook for his first-year signal-caller.

The juices are flowing, and Payton may have found an answer in dynamic second-year receiver Marvin Mims Jr. The mystical “joker” role within the Broncos offense seems to have been filled.

“I think we always gotta be saying, ‘Hey, are we doing everything we can to highlight his strengths?’ And so, yeah, I don’t know if he’s got the ‘joker’ tattoo, but he might be invited to the club,” Payton said via Andrew Mason.

When push comes to shove, if Nix plays lights out again, an easy win might come Denver’s way, but stopping Bowers would also ensure the victory and help in the race for Rookie of the Year honors. Payton is already on high alert, but it was also tinged with a bit of football envy when he illustrated Bowers’ “joker” abilities.

“Someone had a really good vision for him and you see all the ‘Joker’ traits, means and change of direction,” Payton said of Bowers. “It can’t be a little. It’s a high-end receiving trait and he can move, he can be outside and he can run a route tree maybe different than most tight ends.”

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Denver, CO

Jokic and Denver take on the Knicks in non-conference play

Published

22 hours ago

November 24, 2024

Press Room

Jokic and Denver take on the Knicks in non-conference play

Associated Press

New York Knicks (9-7, fourth in the Eastern Conference) vs. Denver Nuggets (9-6, fifth in the Western Conference)

Denver; Monday, 9 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets host the New York Knicks in a non-conference matchup.

The Nuggets have gone 5-3 at home. Denver ranks sixth in the Western Conference with 12.0 offensive rebounds per game led by Jokic averaging 4.4.

The Knicks are 4-5 in road games. New York ranks seventh in the Eastern Conference allowing only 112.4 points while holding opponents to 47.3% shooting.

The Nuggets are shooting 47.8% from the field this season, 0.5 percentage points higher than the 47.3% the Knicks allow to opponents. The Knicks average 14.3 made 3-pointers per game this season, 1.2 more made shots on average than the 13.1 per game the Nuggets allow.

TOP PERFORMERS: Michael Porter Jr. is averaging 18.6 points and 7.1 rebounds for the Nuggets.

Jalen Brunson is averaging 25.1 points and 7.4 assists for the Knicks.

LAST 10 GAMES: Nuggets: 7-3, averaging 118.4 points, 45.5 rebounds, 31.6 assists, 8.7 steals and 4.8 blocks per game while shooting 49.7% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 112.7 points per game.

Knicks: 6-4, averaging 120.3 points, 42.9 rebounds, 29.9 assists, 6.7 steals and 4.1 blocks per game while shooting 50.5% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 114.5 points.

INJURIES: Nuggets: Aaron Gordon: out (calf), DaRon Holmes II: out for season (achilles), Vlatko Cancar: out (knee).

Knicks: Precious Achiuwa: out (hamstring), Miles McBride: day to day (knee), Mitchell Robinson: out (ankle).

___

The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

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