The robotic pet dragon helping with loneliness

A robotic pet dragon has been created to monitor a person's movement, which can also help to combat loneliness if they live by themselves.

It has been designed by Aberystwyth University's Smart Home Lab as part of a study into how robots might help older people or those with health conditions to live independently for longer.

The dragon has been designed to interact with an owner who may be unable to care for a real life pet, can advise them when to move, and provide data to specialists monitoring them.

Other devices being developed include flying drones to help with communication after natural disasters, robots to monitor changes to the Welsh coastline and smart wheelchairs.

Current and former members of the university's after school robotics club and undergraduate robotics society are displaying their creations at Aberystwyth bandstand on the seafront on Saturday.

"It is great to be able to demonstrate some of the research taking place at the university and the potential benefits this work could bring," said Dr Patricia Shaw, a senior lecturer at the university's Department of Computer Science.

"Robots are becoming an increasingly important part of our day to day lives."