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The chapter presents the state of the art and the current trends in the field of service robotics. A set of data reports compiled by the International Federation of Robotics are presented in order to provide a better understanding of the behavior of the service robot market worldwide. A few examples of novel robots, considered representative for the technical trends, are shortly described for each category (professional service robots and personal/domestic service robots). Also there are presented a few non-industrial sources of components (mechanical structure, actuators and sensors, computing and software) that can be used as starting blocks for any new type of service robot. A few community driven projects and competitions are also shortly detailed, as these are the main drive for setting the new trends in the world of service robotics.

In recent years there multiple studies have been carried out on early diagnosis of scoliosis on school and preschool children. The diagnosis and evaluation of scoliosis is done by carrying out X-rays. A protocol is implemented for tracking the evolution of a scoliosis which involves both clinical control and imaging (X-ray) every 6 months, until the end of the growth period of the child. Because investigations such as X-ray and CT, can have harmful effects on the child's growing body (recent studies have shown that X-ray affects the skin, eyes, hematopoietic tissue, gonads and may cause cancer), new methods for diagnosing and tracking the evolution in time were researched. The present paper tries to present the current methods used in the diagnosis and assessment of scoliosis evolution in time, pointing out the main advantages and disadvantages of each method. There are a few methods developed in recent years in Germany by Zebris Medical Gmbh (using mapping with ultrasonic digital equipment), in Canada by InSpeck (using three-dimensional mapping through digital image acquisition) but used on a small scale. The newly developed methods have the advantage of being non-invasive, painless, non-irradiating and they can be used regardless of health status or gender. Although medical technology has developed very rapidly in recent years, radiology remains the most common method of investigation used for scoliosis. Certainly, in the near future the methods presented in this paper could be used more widely, for the benefits arising from their use. Key words: scoliosis, methods of investigation and evaluation, advantages, disadvantages. RezumatÎn ultimii ani s-au realizat multiple studii privind diagnosticarea precoce a scoliozelor la școlari și preșcolari. Diagnosticarea și evaluarea unei scolioze se realizează în prezent prin efectuarea de radiografii. Există implementat un protocol de urmărire al scoliozelor care presupune efectuarea unui examen clinic și imagistic (radiografii) la fiecare șase luni, pe toată perioada de creștere a copilului. Deoarece investigațiile precum radiografiile (RX) și tomografia computerizata, pot determina efecte negative asupra corpului în creștere al copilului, s-au cautat noi metode de diagnosticare și urmărire a evoluției scoliozei ( studiile au arătat că radiația X poate afecta pielea, ochii, țesutul hematopoetic, gonadele și poate determina dezvoltarea cancerului). In ultimii ani au fost dezvoltate noi metode care sunt non-invazive, nedureroase, neiradiante dar care sunt utilizate la scară redusă. Lucrarea de față încearcă să prezinte metodele utilizate la ora actuală în diagnosticarea și urmărirea scoliozelor, punctând principalele avantaje și dezavantaje ale fiecăreia. Există noi metode dezvoltate, în ultimii ani, în Germania de către cei de la Zebris Medical Gmbh -echipamentul Zebris de mapare ultrasonică digitală, în Canada de către cei de la InSpeck Inc -sistemul InSpeck de mapare tridimensională prin preluare digitală de imagine. Noile metode dezvoltate au avantajul de a f...

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