110 histórias, 110 objetos (110 anos do Técnico)

In 2017, a group of researchers from Técnico (Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering) and the Institute for Systems and Robotics (ISR-Lisboa) was part of a project that would give rise, two years later, to FeedBot, a robotic arm for autonomous assisted feeding. This innovative robot was developed by a team that includes Manuel Marques, a researcher with cerebral palsy. The team’s vision is clear: FeedBot can be extremely useful in institutions where 20 or 30 people need to be fed, but never replace the potential for discussion and creation generated by the moment of lunch. At Técnico it is so natural that Manuel Marques’s colleagues help him during the meal that it took a trip to the United States to identify a scientific problem (how to help those people who cannot feed themselves?) that the team had the skills to help solve.

• Acknowledgements:
  João Paulo Costeira
  Manuel Marques

Episode only available in Portuguese in: Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Anchor.fm

Further reading and additional audio in the Portuguese version of this webpage.