Evaluation of a Small Socially-Assistive Humanoid Robot in Intelligent Homes for the Care of the Elderly

Torta, Elena; Werner, Franz; Johnson, David; Juola, James F.; Cuijpers, Raymond H.; Bazzani, Marco; Oberzaucher, Johannes; Lemberger, John; Lewy, Hadas; Bregman, Joseph

doi:10.1007/s10846-013-0019-0

Cited by 106 publications

(116 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…Much of the recent research in the area of robots in healthcare has arisen from Canada [6–8], New Zealand [9–11], Europe [12–16], and Australia [17]. While some of this work explores robots generally [7, 10], most examines the use of robots with the elderly in broad terms [9, 13, 14, 16, 17], with some focus on dementia [6, 11, 12, 15] and disability [8].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Robotic Seals as Therapeutic Tools in an Aged Care Facility: A Qualitative Study

Birks

Bodak

Barlas

et al. 2016

Journal of Aging Research

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Robots, including robotic seals, have been used as an alternative to therapies such as animal assisted therapy in the promotion of health and social wellbeing of older people in aged care facilities. There is limited research available that evaluates the effectiveness of robot therapies in these settings. The aim of this study was to identify, explore, and describe the impact of the use of Paro robotic seals in an aged care facility in a regional Australian city. A qualitative, descriptive, exploratory design was employed. Data were gathered through interviews with the three recreational therapists employed at the facility who were also asked to maintain logs of their interactions with the Paro and residents. Data were transcribed and thematically analysed. Three major themes were identified from the analyses of these data: “a therapeutic tool that's not for everybody,” “every interaction is powerful,” and “keeping the momentum.” Findings support the use of Paro as a therapeutic tool, revealing improvement in emotional state, reduction of challenging behaviours, and improvement in social interactions of residents. The potential benefits justify the investment in Paro, with clear evidence that these tools can have a positive impact that warrants further exploration.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…While some of this work explores robots generally [7, 10], most examines the use of robots with the elderly in broad terms [9, 13, 14, 16, 17], with some focus on dementia [6, 11, 12, 15] and disability [8]. …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Robotic Seals as Therapeutic Tools in an Aged Care Facility: A Qualitative Study

Birks

Bodak

Barlas

et al. 2016

Journal of Aging Research

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“…Next to social robots that assist people in medical situations [1][2][3], social robots can also help improve the user's spatial cognition through pointing gestures [4][5][6][7], improve the imitation skills of children with autism [8][9][10][11], or greet and communicate with people [12][13][14][15]. Therefore, we argue that one of the most important current challenges in research on social robotics is to develop social robots that can effectively influence human behavior or attitudes.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Combining Robotic Persuasive Strategies: The Persuasive Power of a Storytelling Robot that Uses Gazing and Gestures

Ham

Cuijpers

Cabibihan

2015

Int J of Soc Robotics

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101

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Earlier theorizing suggested that an (artificial) agent that combines persuasive strategies will be more persuasive. Therefore, the current research investigated whether a robot that uses two persuasive strategies is more persuasive than a robot that uses only one. Two crucial persuasive strategies that humans use in face-to-face persuasion are gazing and gestures, and therefore we studied the combined and individual contribution of these two persuasive strategies (gestures and gazing) on the persuasiveness of a storytelling robot. A robot told a classical persuasive story about the consequences of lying to forty-eight participants, and was programmed to use (persuasive) gestures (or not) and gazing (or not). Next, we asked participants to evaluate the character in the story thereby assessing the robot's persuasiveness. Results presented evidence a robot's persuasiveness is increased when gazing is used. When the robot used gestures, its persuasiveness only increased when it also used gazing. When the robot did not use gazing, using gestures diminished the robot's persuasiveness. We discuss the implications for theory and design of robots that are more persuasive.

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“…Questionnaires are usually used to quantitatively evaluate users' response during experiments. For example, the Almere Model [14] was specifically designed to test the acceptance of socially assistive robots by older adults in a care home and was then successfully used in [15].…”

Section: Robots For the Elderly And Acceptance Issuementioning

confidence: 99%

Feasibility Study of a Socially Assistive Humanoid Robot for Guiding Elderly Individuals during Walking

Piezzo

Suzuki

2017

Future Internet

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The impact of the world-wide ageing population has commenced with respect to society in developed countries. Several researchers focused on exploring new methods to improve the quality of life of elderly individuals by allowing them to remain independent and healthy to the maximum possible extent. For example, new walking aids are designed to allow elderly individuals to remain mobile in a safe manner because the importance of walking is well-known. The aim of the present study involves designing a humanoid robot guide as a walking trainer for elderly individuals. It is hypothesized that the same service robot provides an assistive and social contribution with respect to interaction between elderly users by motivating them to walk more and simultaneously provides assistance, such as physical assistance and gait monitoring, while walking. This study includes a detailed statement of the research problem as well as a literature review of existing studies related to walking companion robots. A user-centred design approach is adopted to report the results of the current first feasibility study by using a commercially available humanoid robot known as Pepper developed by Softbank-Aldebaran. A quantitative questionnaire was used to investigate all elements that assess intrinsic motivation in users while performing a given activity. Conversely, basic gait data were acquired through a video analysis to test the capability of the robot to modify the gait of human users. The results in terms of the feedback received from elderly subjects and the literature review improve the design of the walking trainer for elderly individuals.Future Internet 2017, 9, 30 2 of 16 decelerate or even prevent cognitive decline, doctors recommend living a healthy life by following a healthy diet, performing physical exercise, and challenging the brain via social engagement or intellectual stimulations. Thus, it is important to perform any activity that keeps the brain active and improves blood circulation. Specifically, physical exercise is an important part of a healthy lifestyle that increases the sense of wellbeing of an individual. Walking itself is a completely accessible way of physical exercise because it suits all abilities, it is free, it does not require equipment, and it can be performed anywhere. Moreover, walking in an outside environment leads to interaction between an individual and others, and thus it can correspond to a social activity that can improve an individual's mood. There is no definitive evidence from randomised trials although studies continue to explore the potential of walking as a preventive treatment for dementia as well as a disease-modifying treatment [3,4]. A main question focuses on whether physical activity directly protects an individual from dementia by providing better oxygen supply or instead whether it offers indirect protection by reducing risks, such as hypertension, that impair cognition. In any case, walking must be considered as extremely important for elderly individuals due to its role in modifyin...

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Evaluation of a Small Socially-Assistive Humanoid Robot in Intelligent Homes for the Care of the Elderly

Cited by 106 publications

References 17 publications

Robotic Seals as Therapeutic Tools in an Aged Care Facility: A Qualitative Study

Robotic Seals as Therapeutic Tools in an Aged Care Facility: A Qualitative Study

Combining Robotic Persuasive Strategies: The Persuasive Power of a Storytelling Robot that Uses Gazing and Gestures

Feasibility Study of a Socially Assistive Humanoid Robot for Guiding Elderly Individuals during Walking

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