Sick children can now "visit" the animals in Poznań Zoo from their hospital beds with the help of Leoś, a robot volunteer who rolls through the zoo showing a livestream of the inhabitants.
Leoś was conceived by Polish animal lover Łukasz Bodnarowski, whose son Borys was diagnosed with a genetic muscle-wasting disease a year ago.
Bodnarowski said he considered quitting his job running a foundation working with wild bears to care for Borys, but that his son, who has Duchenne muscular dystrophy, begged him not to give up his work with the foundation.
Bodnarowski also organised events for children at the zoo, and came up with the idea to bring the zoo to children who were too sick to visit themselves, with the help of Leoś.
Leoś (named for Leo Messi, Borys' favourite footballer) is controlled by a computer or mobile device and accompanied by a zookeeper or volunteer who explains facts about the animals to the child controlling him.
He can also access areas of the zoo which are generally off-limits to visitors, allowing sick children to see zoo life "behind the scenes".
Leoś has been warmly received by staff and patients of the Wiktor Dega Clinical Hospital in Poznań who have been testing the device for the past two months.
Hospital psychologist Anna Jaśkiewicz-Waloszczyk says access to live animals, even just via a screen, helps the hospital's young patients to deal with the inconvenience and boredom of being confined to bed.
Bodnarowski's Don Vittorio Foundation for Wild Animals plans to purchase 20 more robots and to expand cooperation with other hospitals and zoos, as well as other attractions.
Autor: gf / Źródło: TVN24 News in English, Reuters