AI-Enabled Elderly Care Robot

This chapter discusses strategies and innovation ecosystems of care robotics as political choreographies that promote emerging technologies by speculating about and offering imaginary futures of health care. Since the most promising care robots are still at the prototype stage, it is justified to call multitasking care robots ‘imaginary technologies’. My hypothesis is that many academic actors have embraced a societal goal of advancing the utilisation of robots in social and welfare services, acting as prime movers in innovation ecosystems. Using recent examples from the care robotics literature and media texts, I introduce two types of interventions through which researchers participate in the process of domesticating care robots in health care and, through this, also construct innovation ecosystems. I suggest that instead of staying in a ‘neutral position’ with respect to these technologies, the intention of these researchers is to intervene and change prevailing care practices.

The subject of this paper is ethical and responsibility issues relating to the development and acquisition of robotics in healthcare. The purpose of the paper is to study previous scientific publications and research related to the topic and to clarify which questions, aspects, and concerns are most relevant when considering ethics and responsibility issues related to care robots. In the second phase, ideas from different stakeholders regarding the viewpoints are studied, and those ideas are compared to the ones presented in previous publications. The aim of this study is to find solutions to the issues presented in scientific literature and, also, to find new issues for consideration and further studies. The study is qualitative, and a theme interview was utilized as the main method for acquiring knowledge. The study is a part of the SHAPES Horizon 2020 project. From the perspective of SHAPES, the aim of the study is to provide useful knowledge for the project, which would in part promote the goal of SHAPES, i.e., the development of an international healthcare ecosystem. Based on the results of the study, it can be argued that the issues presented in previous academic publications regarding the ethics and accountability of robots in practical healthcare work are not relevant. Both the legislation and the logic of the AI algorithms used by care robots prevent those situations presented in previous academic discussions in which robots would presumably be forced to make decisions demanding ethical consideration. The results also point toward the fact that current legislation does not limit the development of healthcare robots more than it limits healthcare work in general. Thus, the considerations of ethics regarding care robots should rather be focused on the threshold values used by robots, when making interpretations, as well as the data used for the purpose of machine learning. These were identified as potential subjects for further research.

Worldwide, around 50 million people have dementia with symptoms including loss of memory, difficulty in thinking ability, issues with problem-solving and usage of language. About 1.2 million people provide specialised care for dementia patients throughout the world, but the number of trained dementia caretakers are low in India. Traditionally, the focus of medical research has been to find a plausible cure for dementia, while solutions to ease the lives of dementia patients, their caretakers, and their families are often neglected. This paper aims to design and develop a bio-engineering based assistive device- Memhans for patients suffering from the mild and moderate stage of dementia through the help of a case study, intensive design methodologies and prototyping skills. The prototype is an RFID based module integrating a GPS chip (for location tracking) with Bluetooth and a smartwatch app which has the function of relaxing the patient with music. It also provides notifications to the patient, their family, and their caretaker via respective smartphone apps and provides for a contextual understanding by `object and person identification'. This device provides the patient with assistance in daily activities, safety, person and object identification, and most importantly helps them live a dignified life. It also gives a sense of security and eases the minds of the caretaker and the patient's family. This device is cost-effective and is developed for a large number of impoverished patients who reside in developing countries like India.

Background: Robots are introduced in many health and social care settings.Objectives: To provide an overview of the existing evidence related to the views of nurses and other health and social care workers about the use of assistive humanoid and animal-like robots.Methods: Using the Joanna Briggs Institute guidelines we searched MEDLINE, PUBMED, CINHAL, EMBASE, PsycInfo, Web of Science, and IEEE Xplore digital library. Nineteen (19) articles met the criteria for inclusion.Results: Health care workers reported mixed views regarding the use of robots. They considered an array of tasks that robots could perform; they addressed the issue of patient safety and raised concerns about privacy.Conclusions: A limited number of studies have explored the views of health care workers about the use of robots. Considering the fast pace with which technology is advancing in the care field, it is critical to conduct more research in this area.Impact Statement: Robots will increasingly have a role to play in nursing, health and social care. The potential impact will be challenging for the healthcare workforce. It is therefore important for nurses and other health and social care workers to engage in discussion regarding the contribution of robots and their impact not only on nursing care but also on future roles of health and social care workers.

IntroductionWith the rapid ageing of societies in Europe and worldwide, the issues of social functioning and mental well-being of older adults gain importance and call for effective care solutions. Among the non-pharmacological options, modern technologies are a promising direction. The use of humanoid social robots, at least in selected areas of care for community-dwelling older people, is one of the possibilities to cope with both their mental problems and the increasing shortage of qualified caregivers.ObjectivesWe thus investigated which prospective areas of care are scored best by older subjects and their professional caregivers.MethodsOpinions of older people (60+; no severe cognitive impairment), living in the community, and their professional caregivers about a robot in care for older adults were collected using the mixed-methodology Users’ Needs, Requirements and Abilities Questionnaire (UNRAQ), after a 90-150 minute interaction with the TIAGo robot (PAL Robotics, Spain).ResultsThe robot as a companion of an older person was scored better by older adults than caregivers (p<0.01). Similar results were obtained for the statements The robot could decrease the sense of loneliness and improve the mood of the elderly person (p<0.01), The robot should detect the owner’s mood (p<0.05), and The robot should accompany the owner in everyday activities (p<0.01).ConclusionsOur results, reflecting the opinions and preferences of various stakeholders, indicate a high general acceptance of a robot in care for older people. The indication of best-scored areas provides clues for the robot’s designers as well as those involved in the implementation of robotic solutions in care and their introduction into the lives of older adults.Disclosure of InterestNone Declared

Superior voice recognition in a patient with acquired prosopagnosia and object agnosia

There are many different types of robots that are used in different fields to make our lives easier. Currently, a popular assistive robot used in health care includes the “support robot” that helps persons? mobility and the “rehabilitation robot” that facilitates the performance of range-of-motion exercises. A robot performs tasks with mechanical precision on its own, or with guidance. Many fundamental questions exist that challenges the development of assistive health care robots, such as (1) What is a caring robot? (2) Should caring robots be humanoids or not? (3) What necessary functions are required for these caring robots so that it can provide quality nursing care? (4) What level of intelligence should robots have so that it can function effectively as a responsive `assistant' to patients? (5) What levels of decision-making should the robot have to be a dependable partner solving patients' care problems? Based on nursing caring theories, the authors of this paper propose a set of necessary functions that a caring robot should have, so that these questions can be answered. A caring robot has functional features like that of a human nurse. Developing humanoid robots will enhance the necessary functions of a caring robot particularly in task for example, taking vital signs and delivery of meals and medications. The most important ability of the caring robot is to carry-out basic nursing care functions as expected by the patients. This paper aims to apply nursing caring theory as a framework for the patient human-robot interaction.

In this work, an online survey was used to understand the acceptability of humanoid robots and users’ needs in using these robots to assist with care among people with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD), their family caregivers, health care professionals, and the general public. From November 1, 2020 to March 13, 2021, a total of 631 complete responses were collected, including 80 responses from people with mild cognitive impairment or ADRD, 245 responses from caregivers and health care professionals, and 306 responses from the general public. We carried out detailed caparisons between people with ADRD, caregivers, and general public for their opinions about robot acceptance, robotic functionality, usability, and ethical issues. Overall, people with ADRD, caregivers, and the general public showed positive attitudes towards using the robot to assist with care for people with ADRD. The top three functions of robots required by the group of people with ADRD were reminders to take medicine, emergency call service, and helping contact medical services. Additionally, we included a discussion of the comments, suggestions, and concerns from the caregivers and the general public. We recognized common concerns raised by the participants, including the cost of the robot, the machine-like voice of the robot, and reduced acceptability of the robot by people with ADRD due to cognitive deficit. The results of this article are of significant relevance for the applications of social robotics in dementia care and for biomedical interventions related to AI and robotics in healthcare. Moreover, the discussions on potentials and limitations identified in this article will shed light for future design, development, and evaluation of socially assistive robots for people living with dementia.

In this paper, we introduce a novel application of social robotics in healthcare: high fidelity, facially expressive, robotic patient simulators (RPSs), and explore their usage within a clinical experimental context. Current commercially-available RPSs, the most commonly used humanoid robots worldwide, are substantially limited in their usability and fidelity due to the fact that they lack one of the most important clinical interaction and diagnostic tools: an expressive face. Using autonomous facial synthesis techniques, we synthesized pain both on a humanoid robot and comparable virtual avatar. We conducted an experiment with 51 clinicians and 51 laypersons (n = 102), to explore differences in pain perception across the two groups, and also to explore the effects of embodiment (robot or avatar) on pain perception. Our results suggest that clinicians have lower overall accuracy in detecting synthesized pain in comparison to lay participants. We also found that all participants are overall less accurate detecting pain from a humanoid robot in comparison to a comparable virtual avatar, lending support to other recent findings in the HRI community. This research ultimately reveals new insights into the use of RPSs as a training tool for calibrating clinicians' pain detection skills.

The aim of this scoping review was to gather, summarize, and map the knowledge of peoples’ experiences on humanoid robots, capable of assisting people with activities of daily living. The review was guided by the framework of Joanna Briggs Institute and PRISMA-ScR. We found 44 papers describing nine robots that could assist with a variety of tasks listed in the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health. The mixed population experienced little or no anxiety toward the robots, and most accepted the robots’ ability to monitor for safety reasons. Some participants disliked the robots’ large size and slow movements. Most of the participants found the robots easy to use. They wanted improvements in the robots’ functionality and the ability to personalize services. Several of the participants found the services interesting and useful, but not for themselves. The experiences of humanoid robotic assistance showed an insufficient level of technical readiness for assisting in physical assistance, a lack of personalization and readiness for use in home settings. The practical relevance of these findings lies in guiding future research and development toward a more individualized approach focusing on user needs and experiences to enhance the efficacy and integration of humanoid robots in health-care.

BackgroundThrough the concept of ageism, we highlight and explain how the society prejudices the elderly. WHO classifies 12 most common stereotypes pertaining to old age. Elderly people are being excluded from social life due to their chronological age rather than any actual reduced physical and/or mental ability. Some of these stereotypes are directly related to the (un)willingness and the ability of the elderly to use technology in everyday life.ObjectivesThe study presented in this article aims to explain the phenomenon of technology use among elderly people who had had a stroke.MethodA qualitative study, namely a qualitative content analysis, was performed. Six in-depth interviews with older people who have suffered a stroke were conducted and explored their views on the daily use of technology.ResultsAll older people included in this study used different technologies, which have been divided into technologies that support mobility, technologies for personal care, technologies that support household chores, and technologies for maintaining a social network. An elderly person’s attitude toward the use of technology is connected to their social network and assistance from professional staff, as well as the severity of their physical disability. We have found that using various technologies, elderly people are developing various coping strategies.ConclusionsAfter a stroke, a certain degree of physical deterioration can be expected. Nonetheless, our participants managed to compensate for this also with the help of assistive devices and technologies, which negates the myth of simply “surrendering” to the aging process.

Robots in the 20th century have been valued mainly for their enhancement of productivity. According to Professor Ichiro Kato of Waseda University, 21st-century robots will be valued because they enhance amenity. The development of robot systems for health care, detailed in this special issue of Robotica, is an affirmation of this forecast.Several factors have combined to cause this development, although economic factors are paramount. Industrialised countries, where robots are most likely to be used, face an ageing population-a result of lower birth rates, reduced infant mortality and increased life expectancy. This ‘ageing society' is expected to have enormous impact upon these countries’ health and social security systems which devote a large proportion of their resources to the care of older people.

Robotic rehabilitation states as the restorative therapy for the which act as the augmented tool for the health care workers. The methodology was to collect the articles from various scholar sites and where the scrutinization for 180 articles were done. Where the need of the study was to create review upon the robotic technology in the health care. They act as the rehabilitative tool for the upper and lower limb which is further classified into endoskeletons and exoskeletons which is having which is having different mechanism of play and different outcome. The need of rehabilitation technology with robots is inclusive of accurate monitoring, surgery, medicine and rehabilitation. There is a history of robotics in health care as begin in 1960’s for surgery and in 1990’s for rehabilitation and now have expanded in various accessible new technologies that are affordable, having multiple control system with various degrees of freedom and different approach to work. Some of them are highly versatile even can work without any supervision. The need of robotics will increase so as to assist not to remove and gain satisfaction at every end of patient and health worker.&#x0D; The past to present to the future have been very challenging but are present with great outcomes.

Staff shortages and the implementation of social robotics in forensic care. Forensic care is provided under political and societal pressure. At the same time this sector faces an increasing lack of qualified personnel. This study describes whether, and if so in which way, social robots can contribute to the quality of forensic care and relieve the burden on staff. As no studies have yet been conducted on the applicability of this technology in forensic care, first literature was searched for studies on experiences with social robots in general mental health care. Subsequently, by means of desk research, forensic treatment methods were identified for which social robotics could currently be used. For three tasks for which potential for social robots was seen prototypes were developed, namely ADL, Companionship and Early Recognition Method. Two focus groups in which a total of twelve employees from the forensic field discussed the applicability of these prototypes as well as social robotics in general in forensic care. The participants saw various opportunities for social robots to contribute to the quality of treatment. It was concluded that the use of robots should be seen as a supplement to or deepening of current care, and not as a replacement for care as it is currently provided by humans. It is also emphasized that the implementation of social robotics in forensic care requires specialized knowledge and skills from the already heavily burdened forensic care providers.

Problem statement: Present researches focus to make humanoid robots more and more autonomous so they can assist human in daily works like taking care of children, aged or disabled persons. In such social activities, the contemporar y humanoid robots are expected to have human like morphology and gait. Studies on bipedal locomotion for humanoid robots are then part of the hottest topics in the field of robotic researches. Knowing the benefits of arm swinging for human gait, we propose in this study a new prototype of female humanoid robot morphology having the capabilities to swing arms during step walking. Approach: A new humanoid robot prototype had been introduced based on a human morphology corresponding to a woman whose weight is 70 kg and height is 1,73 m and using realistic gait parameters of a women. The female hu manoid robot prototype was composed of fifteen links associated to twenty-six degrees of freedom. Winter statistical model had been applied to determ ine all physical parameters corresponding to each link. Modeling the proposed humanoid robot implies first to establish the kinematic model basically founded on Euler's transformation matrix and then to set th e dynamic model computed using the Newton-Euler method. To show how the arms played an important role in bipedal gait, we had chosen to consider the whole body as two independent robotic systems: the upper body and the lower body. Results: Both three dimensional kinematic and dynamic models of the humanoid robot had been developed. The three dimensional humanoid robot was controlled via a feedback linearization control during the single su pport, impact and double support phases. The simulation results showed the arm swing during the step of walking. Conclusion: The humanoid robot proposed has a human like morphology and ensures the function of a step walking with arm swinging. The applied control laws have ensured to the robot desired performances during a step walking.