South Lanarkshire University Health and Social Care Partnership is helping researchers develop an early robot prototype that aims to assist people recovering after injury.

The trust's staff are helping to develop ARI, a ‘social robot', with human-like characteristics. Patients are not currently involved in the research.

Carl Bettosi, a PhD student in Human-Robot Interaction at the Edinburgh Centre for Robotics, said: ‘A key focus of our research is the ability of the robot to make some decisions autonomously and thus reduce the burden on healthcare staff.

‘To do this, we will develop cutting-edge decision-making techniques driven by machine learning.'

Lisa Farrell, Business Development Manager at The National Robotarium, said: ‘We're on a mission at The National Robotarium to create new robotics technologies that can support clinicians and healthcare professionals whilst stimulating growth and innovation within the health services.

‘However, it's crucial that any robotics solutions are developed with the end user in mind.'