Assistive technology design and development for acceptable robotics companions for ageing years

© 2013 Farshid Amirabdollahian et al., licensee Versita Sp. z o. o. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs license, which means that the text may be used for non-commercial purposes, provided credit is given to the author.A new stream of research and development responds to changes in life expectancy across the world. It includes technologies which enhance well-being of individuals, specifically for older people. The ACCOMPANY project focuses on home companion technologies and issues surrounding technology development for assistive purposes. The project responds to some overlooked aspects of technology design, divided into multiple areas such as empathic and social human-robot interaction, robot learning and memory visualisation, and monitoring persons’ activities at home. To bring these aspects together, a dedicated task is identified to ensure technological integration of these multiple approaches on an existing robotic platform, Care-O-Bot®3 in the context of a smart-home environment utilising a multitude of sensor arrays. Formative and summative evaluation cycles are then used to assess the emerging prototype towards identifying acceptable behaviours and roles for the robot, for example role as a butler or a trainer, while also comparing user requirements to achieved progress. In a novel approach, the project considers ethical concerns and by highlighting principles such as autonomy, independence, enablement, safety and privacy, it embarks on providing a discussion medium where user views on these principles and the existing tension between some of these principles, for example tension between privacy and autonomy over safety, can be captured and considered in design cycles and throughout project developmentsPeer reviewe

Which activities threaten independent living of elderly when becoming problematic : inspiration for meaningful service robot functionality

Purpose: In light of the increasing elderly population and the growing demand for home care, the potential of robot support is given increasing attention. In this paper, an inventory of activities was made that threaten independent living of elderly when becoming problematic. Results will guide the further development of an existing service robot, the Care-O-bot®. Method: A systematic literature search of PubMed was performed, focused on the risk factors for institutionalization. Additionally, focus group sessions were conducted in the Netherlands, United Kingdom and France. In these focus group sessions, problematic activities threatening the independence of elderly people were discussed. Three separate target groups were included in the focus group sessions: (1) elderly persons (n = 41), (2) formal caregivers (n = 40) and (3) informal caregivers (n = 32). Results: Activities within the International Classification of Functioning domains mobility, self-care, and interpersonal interaction and relationships were found to be the most problematic. Conclusions: A distinct set of daily activities was identified that may threaten independent living, but no single activity could be selected as the main activity causing a loss of independence as it is often a combination of problematic activities that is person-specific. Supporting the problematic activities need not involve a robotic solution Read More: http://informahealthcare.com/doi/abs/10.3109/17483107.2013.840861Peer reviewe

Identification of priority health conditions for field-based screening in urban slums in Bangalore, India

BACKGROUND: Urban slums are characterised by unique challenging living conditions, which increase their inhabitants' vulnerability to specific health conditions. The identification and prioritization of the key health issues occurring in these settings is essential for the development of programmes that aim to enhance the health of local slum communities effectively. As such, the present study sought to identify and prioritise the key health issues occurring in urban slums, with a focus on the perceptions of health professionals and community workers, in the rapidly growing city of Bangalore, India. METHODS: The study followed a two-phased mixed methods design. During Phase I of the study, a total of 60 health conditions belonging to four major categories: - 1) non-communicable diseases; 2) infectious diseases; 3) maternal and women's reproductive health; and 4) child health - were identified through a systematic literature review and semi-structured interviews conducted with health professionals and other relevant stakeholders with experience working with urban slum communities in Bangalore. In Phase II, the health issues were prioritised based on four criteria through a consensus workshop conducted in Bangalore. RESULTS: The top health issues prioritized during the workshop were: diabetes and hypertension (non-communicable diseases category), dengue fever (infectious diseases category), malnutrition and anaemia (child health, and maternal and women's reproductive health categories). Diarrhoea was also selected as a top priority in children. These health issues were in line with national and international reports that listed them as top causes of mortality and major contributors to the burden of diseases in India. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study will be used to inform the development of technologies and the design of interventions to improve the health outcomes of local communities. Identification of priority health issues in the slums of other regions of India, and in other low and lower middle-income countries, is recommended

Kan een sociale robot je minder eenzaam maken?

"De cafés waren dicht, het kantoor was verboden terrein en huisgenoten heeft redacteur Emmeke Bos ook al niet. Of je moet de zilvervisjes meetellen. Gelukkig kreeg ze midden in deze pandemische tijden gezelschap van een knuffelrobot. Maar helpt zo’n zoemende zeehond?" In deze publicatie wordt onderzoeker Sandra Bedaf geïnterviewd door Quest redacteur Emmeke Bos

The Future is Now: The Potential of Service Robots in Elderly Care

Robots are booming business. A specific area that has generated considerable attention in recent years is the development of service robots for elderly care. A robot that can physically assist users in carrying out daily activities may help older people live independently for longer. This dissertation found that older people are more open to service robots than their caregivers or healthcare providers. The social behaviour of the robot appears to play a significant role in its acceptance, as does the robot's intelligence and ability to adapt to the user's needs and preferences

What are the preferred characteristics of a service robot for the elderly? A multi-country focus group study with older adults and caregivers

This multi-perspective study focuses on how a service robot for the elderly should behave when interacting with potential users. An existing service robot and a scenario were used as a concrete case, which was discussed and analyzed during focus group sessions with older adults (n = 38), informal caregivers (n = 24), and professional caregivers (n = 35) in the Netherlands, France, and the United Kingdom. A total of seven topics-privacy, task execution, environment, appearance, behavior, visitors, and communication-were explored. The results showed that some of the characteristics mentioned were unique to a user group, but several were cross-cutting. Overall, potential users expected the service robot to be customizable in order to match the users' needs and preferences. Also, high expectations concerning its functioning and behavior were expressed, which sometimes could even be compared to the qualities of a human being. This emphasizes the complexity of service robot development for older adults, and highlights the need for a personalized and flexible solution. One size does not fit all, and specific attention should be paid to the development of the robot's social behavior and skills beyond a mere functional support for the person

Can a service robot which supports independent living of older people disobey a command? The views of older people, informal carers and professional caregivers on the acceptability of robots

Sustaining independent living for elderly people in their own homes is desirable for various reasons. As older people become frail or disabled, a ‘gap’ appears between the abilities they still have and the abilities that are required for independent living. To a certain extent robots may close this gap by providing functionality lost through frailty or disability. A scenario was created involving a re-enablement coach robot. This scenario was discussed with older people, informal carers, and care professionals in focus groups in the Netherlands, United Kingdom and France. The results provided insights into the acceptability of robots and showed that older people were open to the idea of having a robot supporting them in their daily life. Participants were also willing to have a robot perform higher level coordinating tasks while playing the role of the re-enablement coach. However, participants wanted the robot to operate at the same level of intelligence as a human carer. This implies that more attention needs to be given to the development of the social skills and behaviour of such robots. Additionally, participants acknowledged that such a robot would create tension between respecting the autonomy of the user (i.e. robot obeys all commands given by the user) and the promotion of independence in the long term (i.e. robot is programmed to maintain the abilities the user still has). Our results indicate that people preferred to resolve this tension in favour of autonomy. This choice, however, may decrease the user’s abilities in the longer term and thereby undermine users’ ability to live independently

Ethical dimensions of human-robot interactions in the care of older people : Insights from 21 focus groups convened in the UK, France and the Netherlands

We briefly report the method and four findings of a large-scale qualitative study of potential users’ views on the ethical values that should govern the design and programming of social robots for older people. 21 focus groups were convened in the UK, France and the Netherlands. We present and briefly discuss our data on: 1) the contrasting attitudes of older people and formal and informal carers about how well technology might be received by older users; 2) views about healthcare professionals, informal and formal carers having access to private information about householders that has been collected by the robot; 3) the belief that robots could not, as well as should not, replace human contact because persuasion is regarded a uniquely human skill; and 4) differing perceptions of the role of the robot and how this was used to justify ethical opinions on robot behavior

Selecting services for a service robot : Evaluating the problematic activities threatening the independence of elderly persons

Sustaining independent living for the elderly is desirable both for the individual as well as for societies as a whole. Substantial care interventions are provided to citizens supporting their independent living. Currently, such interventions are primarily based on human care provision, but due to demographic changes the demand for such support is continuously increasing. Assistive Robotics has the potential to answer this growing demand. The notions research towards service robots that support the independence of elderly people has been given increased attention. The challenge is to develop robots that are able to adequately support with those activities that pose the greatest problems for elderly people seeking to remain independent. In order to develop the capabilities of the Care-O-bot 3 in the ACCOMPANY project, problematic activities that may threaten continued independent living of elderly people were studied. Focus groups were conducted in the Netherlands, UK, and France and included three separate user groups: (1) elderly (N=41), (2) formal caregivers (N=40), and (3) informal caregivers (N=32). This resulted in a top 3 of problematic activity domains that received the highest priority: (1) Mobility, (2) Self-care, and (3) Social isolation. The findings inform the further development of the Care-O-bot. In the ACCOMPANY project the Care-O-bot 3 will be developed further to enable it to support independently living older persons in one of these domain