Background
New technologies, like socially assistive robots (SARs), may have the potential to support caregivers at home. Still, the evidence for people with dementia in home care is unclear because a lot of studies are performed in a laboratory or institutional setting, and mainly use robots in prototype stages.
Objective
This study aims to explore the effects of the refined, commercially-available, humanoid SAR Pepper combined with a tablet PC–based dementia training program (Coach Pepper) versus an exclusively tablet PC–based dementia training program on psychosocial and physical outcomes of people with dementia living at home, including caregivers and dementia trainers. We hypothesize that Coach Pepper has a more positive effect on the primary outcome motivation (stable or decreased apathy) of people with dementia.
Methods
A mixed methods study will be performed, including a randomized controlled, parallel, 2-arm study with a complementary qualitative part. This sample includes 40 PWD living at home and 40 relatives, each complemented with five professional caregivers and dementia trainers. The intervention group will receive Coach Pepper (a SAR connected with a tablet PC–based dementia training program), and the control group will receive exclusively tablet PC–based training without the SAR. The duration of the intervention will be three weeks per household. Data will be collected at baseline and during and after the intervention by standardized questionnaires, sensor data of the robot, and tablet PC, as well as semistructured interviews, focus groups, and observation.
Results
To date, no results are available for this study protocol. The study intervention started in May 2019 and will end in Spring 2020.
Conclusions
The intervention of this study can be seen as a nonpharmacological intervention, including cognitive and physical training by a robot. This study will help to further refine SAR for the specific needs of people with dementia living at home.
International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID)
DERR1-10.2196/14927
Social roles are a design option for robots that behave in accordance with user expectations. We believe that robots have to exceed stereotypical role behaviors and dynamically provide roles that suit the people's living conditions in order to achieve long-term acceptance. We are introducing a new user-focused design method to develop social role repertoires for adaptive human-robot interaction (HRI). The method consists of five sequential steps: (1) user group and application scenario identification; (2) acquisition of users' mental associations; (3) derivation of role traits; (4) prioritization of these traits; and (5) synthesis of an adaptive social role repertoire. We tested our method with two specific user groups: elder adults living at home and those living in care facilities. The results reveal basic role concepts and specific preference clusters in each user group. The empirically based clusters are suitable for the parameterizations and development of robots with adaptive social roles.
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