by Angela Guess
A new article out of the University of New Haven reports, “Help has arrived for those worried that their email accounts have been hacked or that their bank accounts have been compromised. It’s a robot developed by a University of New Haven student that can check personal email accounts for hackers and offer advice about cybersecurity. Known as Ada, the robot has a head that can move, a torso that can turn, and is colored blue and white. It was developed by Devon Clark of Branford, who received his B.S. in engineering from UNH in May and is now a master’s degree student. The robot is named for Ada Lovelace, considered the first computer programmer for developing the first algorithm carried out by a machine.”
The article continues, “The robot can help people keep their online information private and demonstrate new trends in cybersecurity, Clark said. ‘Ada is basically a computer teaching people about computer safety.’ Ada can sense a person approaching and will react by greeting the person. Users can choose from eight activities, including reading a cybersecurity article, taking a quiz, listening to a joke, tweeting a picture with Ada and checking an email address to see if it has been hacked. Ada can also teach users about secure passwords and other ways to keep accounts safe. The robot was completed as part of an education research initiative at UNH Cyber Forensics Research and Education Group (UNHcFREG) in the Tagliatela College of Engineering.”
photo credit: UNH
