Closer Look: Robotics & Agriculture, GA Tech’s Wearable Robotics; Future of Telemedicine

Candace Wheeler •
On today's Closer Look, local doctors talk about what the future of telemedicine looks like.
On today's Closer Look, local doctors talk about what the future of telemedicine looks like.
Credit AP Photo/Mark Lennihan
Audio version of this story here.

Wednesday on “Closer Look with Rose Scott”:

  • 0:00: Rose Scott gives a news brief on the Marietta Police Department’s response, this morning, to a threatening note inside a car parked in front of the Marietta Daily Journal. Five nearby buildings were evacuated — Cobb County’s Bomb Squad later found no explosive device was in the vehicle.
  • In other news, we get the latest on a shooting yesterday night that injured four female students from Clark Atlanta University and Spelman College. According to a statement from the Atlanta Police Department, students were attending the party in front of the Robert W. Woodruff Library at the Clark Atlanta University campus when an “unknown shooter opened fire into a crowd of 200 people”. All four women are listed in stable condition — an investigation into the shooting is ongoing.
  • 3:14: By the year 2050, the world’s population is expected to reach more than 9 billion people. Dr. Charlie Li, professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of Georgia, explains how he hopes to use drones and robotic technology to feed a growing population.
  • 17:53: Tech Week continues with a visit to the Georgia Institute of Technology’s Human Physiology of Wearable Robotics laboratory, where Georgia Tech Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering Greg Sawicki is working with a team to create robotic limbs.
  • Georgia Tech Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering Greg Sawicki gives Closer Look a tour of the Georgia Institute of Technology’s Human Physiology of Wearable Robotics laboratory. (Photo credit: Candace Wheeler)
  • Georgia Tech Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering Greg Sawicki gives Closer Look a tour of the Georgia Institute of Technology’s Human Physiology of Wearable Robotics laboratory. (Photo credit: Candace Wheeler)
  • Georgia Tech Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering Greg Sawicki gives Closer Look a tour of the Georgia Institute of Technology’s Human Physiology of Wearable Robotics laboratory. (Photo credit: Candace Wheeler)
  • 35:09: Many medical professionals and researchers say telemedicine could be the key to helping hard-to-reach populations in rural areas and to increasing accessibility in cities. How is this technology already being implemented? And what are the drawbacks, if any, to phasing out face-to-face care? A conversation with Dr. Walkitria Smith, medical director for telemedicine at Morehouse School of Medicine, Dr. Timothy Buchman, Medical Director of the Electronic ICU Service at Emory Healthcare and Dr. Jean Sumner, dean of the Mercer University School of Medicine.
Dr. Walkitria Smith, medical director for telemedicine at Morehouse School of Medicine, Dr. Timothy Buchman, Medical Director of the Electronic ICU Service at Emory Healthcare and Dr. Jean Sumner, dean of the Mercer University School of Medicine join Closer Look for a conversation about the future of telemedicine. (Credit to left and middle photo Grace Walker, credit to right photo is courtesy of Mercer Medical School)

Closer Look is produced by Candace Wheeler and Grace Walker. Joy Barge is a contributing producer.