It’s FaceTime on a movable robot driven remotely by a young patient.
Sporting KC President Jake Reid said he never would have guessed the impact REX would have on patients from nearby Children’s Mercy Hospital, but it’s been “pretty darn neat,” according to the soccer executive.
Through its naming rights partnership, both the local hospital and the soccer club recently collaborated on how they could continuously evolve their relationship to impact patients, in part by integrating technology.
John Baker, who is a Senior Analyst for Telemedicine and Video Conferencing at Children’s Mercy, said he and his staff bought the telepresence robot from Double Robotics with the idea they there’d be a number of use cases for it, including the “big dream” of working with a local professional sports team.
“It’s a cool thing, there’s a ‘wow’ factor and it will really impact those kids who in their teenage years really love sports — there’s a great synergy to it,” Baker said. “Since we had the naming rights with Sporting, that was the easiest conversation to have.
“How do we take the experience of Children’s Mercy Park on a game day to the hospital for those kids who unfortunately are battling something that doesn’t allow them to get out of their room and go to the actual game itself? It was a great idea that has really taken off.”
At Sporting KC’s Children’s Mercy Park, 15-year-old Kaylee Brown was one of the first patients to test out the robot dubbed REX, short for ‘remote experience.’
Double Robotics, which sells its robot for nearly $2,500, overlaid some driving buttons on an open source web and video conferencing platform to give patients like Brown an interactive feel as they go behind-the-scenes, chat with other Sporting fans and transport themselves to the park.
With a bluetooth device synced through the wheelbase, a mounted iPad and Segway-like technology that allows the contraption to self-balance, Brown could navigate REX around the stadium with her touch-screen iPad, approach the pitch during warm-ups, interact with the team mascot and say ‘hi’ to her brother who was in attendance as well.
To Brown’s surprise, her favorite player Dom Dwyer shot a smile into the camera and gave a friendly wave.
“Now the players are a little more aware of it, and I think some of them keep an eye out for it when they can,” Baker said.
“The player interaction has been the highlight for the kids.”
Added Sporting’s Reid: “Unless everyone gets behind it, it’s just a cool technology, but with the players and the interaction makes it really special for the kids. It continues to blow my mind on the impact it’s had.”
Reid said the expectation is REX will make an appearance at all Sporting KC home matches. As Baker explained, a hospital staffer will typically follow the robot around the stadium, monitor connectivity and carry it around stairs when needed while a volunteer will sit by the patient’s side at the hospital and answer any questions.
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“As the patient sits in a room with their own iPad, they have complete control over the robot…I think that’s what makes it so unique for them,” Baker said. “Yes, I could go to a game and open up FaceTime and I can watch, but actually being able to be there and drive around someone and have that extra layer of control that they wouldn’t have with anything else, it really adds to that feeling of being there.
“It’s all about the kid having that experience. Knowing that they can do that and get closer to the field than they ever could have, it’s great. Seeing the reactions afterwards and talking to their parents and understanding what it does for them is just amazing.”