There are many insidious diseases that debilitate people, but one of the worst is Parkinson’s. Its level of importance has been highlighted by celebrities including Michael J. Fox and Mohammed Ali, who recently died from complications from the disease. About 60,000 people a year are afflicted with Parkinson’s, and an estimated 7 million to 10 million people around the globe are living with it. Alfredo Muniz and Sade Oba are seniors at the University of Pennsylvania who hope their research in robotics will help improve the quality of life for those living with the disease. They are looking at the effectiveness of using motion sensors to gather data and have founded a company called Xeed. They recently spoke with the Knowledge at Wharton Show on Sirius XM channel 111 about their work and how it can be applied. An edited transcript of the conversation follows. Knowledge at Wharton: Where did the idea come from to gather data on Parkinson’s disease? Alfredo Muniz: It actually came from a robot.…