Ethical framework of assistive devices: review and reflection

The population of ageing is growing significantly over the world, and there is an emerging demand for better healthcare services and more care centres. Innovations of Information and Communication Technology has resulted in development of various types of assistive robots to fulfil elderly’s needs and independency, whilst carrying out daily routine tasks. This makes it vital to have a clear understanding of elderly’s needs and expectations from assistive robots. This paper addresses current ethical issues to understand elderly’s prime needs. Also, we consider other general ethics with the purpose of applying these theories to form a proper ethics framework. In the ethics framework, the ethical concerns of senior citizens will be prioritized to satisfy elderly’s needs and also to diminish related expenses to healthcare services

What People with Dementia Want: Designing MARIO an Acceptable Robot Companion

The number of people with dementia is expected to double every 20 years to 66 million by 2030 and 115 million by 2050 [1]. More than a third of people with dementia have reported loneliness [2]. Robots have the potential to combat the devastating impact of loneliness in people with dementia by improving, mood, quality of life [3] and reduce social isolation by facilitating people with dementia (PWD) to maintain social contacts. However companion robots designed for PWD need to be customised to meet individual needs if they are to be perceived as useful and acceptable. It is imperative therefore that technologists and robot developers talk and listen to what people with dementia and their carers think and say about having a companion robot and what it is they would like a robot companion to be able to do for them. However there is little reported in the literature as to how this can be done and what it is people with dementia would like to see in a robot companion. This paper presents a brief review of the literature focusing on the state of the Art in relation to the usefulness of robots for people with dementia, which is an important factor that governs the acceptability of companion robots. It also includes an overview of the ethical considerations that inform robot development and how these will influence the development of the MARIO companion robot. This is followed with a description of a small qualitative study which describes how people with dementia and other key stakeholders helped to design and shape this robot. The paper concludes with an overview of the unique aspect of the MARIO robot and outlines the scientific impact of this work.European Union Horizons 2020 – the Framework Programme for Research and Innovation (2014-2020) under grant agreement 643808 Project MARIO ‘Managing active and healthy aging with use of caring service robots”peer-reviewe