Elderly Care Robots Research Articles

Survey-Based Discussions on Morally Contentious Applications of Interactive Robotics

Introduction: As applications of robotics extend to areas that directly impact human life, such as the military and eldercare, the deployment of autonomous and semi-autonomous robots increasingly requires the input of stakeholder opinions. Up to now, technological deployment has been relying on the guidance of government/military policy and the healthcare system without specific incorporation of professional and lay opinion. Methods: This paper presents results from a roboethics study that uses the unique N-Reasons scenario-based survey instrument. The instrument collected Yes, No, Neutral responses from more than 250 expert and lay responders via the Internet along with their ethics-content reasons for the answers, allowing the respondents to agree to previously-provided reasons or to write their own. Data from three questions relating to military and eldercare robots are analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively. Results: The survey reveals that respondents weigh the appropriateness of robotics technology deployment in concert with the level of autonomy conferred upon it. The accepted level of robot autonomy does not appear to be solely dependent on the perceived efficiency and effectiveness of the technology, but is subject to the robot’s relationship with the public’s principle-based reasons and the application field in focus. Conclusion: The N-Reasons instrument was effective in eliciting ethical commentary in a simple, on-line survey format and provides insights into the interactions between the issues that respondents consider across application and technology boundaries.

Socially Assistive Robots in Elderly Care: A Systematic Review into Effects and Effectiveness

The ongoing development of robotics on the one hand and, on the other hand, the foreseen relative growth in number of elderly individuals suffering from dementia, raises the question of which contribution robotics could have to rationalize and maintain, or even improve the quality of care. The objective of this review was to assess the published effects and effectiveness of robot interventions aiming at social assistance in elderly care. We searched, using Medical Subject Headings terms and free words, in the CINAHL, MEDLINE, Cochrane, BIOMED, PUBMED, PsycINFO, and EMBASE databases. Also the IEEE Digital Library was searched. No limitations were applied for the date of publication. Only articles written in English were taken into account. Collected publications went through a selection process. In the first step, publications were collected from major databases using a search query. In the second step, 3 reviewers independently selected publications on their title, using predefined selection criteria. In the third step, publications were judged based on their abstracts by the same reviewers, using the same selection criteria. In the fourth step, one reviewer made the final selection of publications based on complete content. Finally, 41 publications were included in the review, describing 17 studies involving 4 robot systems. Most studies reported positive effects of companion-type robots on (socio)psychological (eg, mood, loneliness, and social connections and communication) and physiological (eg, stress reduction) parameters. The methodological quality of the studies was, mostly, low. Although positive effects were reported, the scientific value of the evidence was limited. The positive results described, however, prompt further effectiveness research in this field.

Granny and the robots: ethical issues in robot care for the elderly

The growing proportion of elderly people in society, together with recent advances in robotics, makes the use of robots in elder care increasingly likely. We outline developments in the areas of robot applications for assisting the elderly and their carers, for monitoring their health and safety, and for providing them with companionship. Despite the possible benefits, we raise and discuss six main ethical concerns associated with: (1) the potential reduction in the amount of human contact; (2) an increase in the feelings of objectification and loss of control; (3) a loss of privacy; (4) a loss of personal liberty; (5) deception and infantilisation; (6) the circumstances in which elderly people should be allowed to control robots. We conclude by balancing the care benefits against the ethical costs. If introduced with foresight and careful guidelines, robots and robotic technology could improve the lives of the elderly, reducing their dependence, and creating more opportunities for social interaction

Assistive social robots in elderly care: a review

Assistive social robots, a particular type of assistive robotics designed for social interaction with humans, could play an important role with respect to the health and psychological well-being of the elderly. Objectives Assistive social robots are believed to be useful in eldercare for two reasons, a functional one and an affective one. Such robots are developed to function as an interface for the elderly with digital technology, and to help increase the quality of life of the elderly by providing companionship, respectively. There is a growing attention for these devices in the literature. However, no comprehensive review has yet been performed to investigate the effectiveness of such robots in the care of the elderly. Therefore, we systematically reviewed and analyzed existing literature on the effects of assistive social robots in health care for the elderly. We focused in particular on the companion function. Data Sources A systematic search of MEDLINE, CINAHL, PsycINFO, The Cochrane Library databases, IEEE, ACM libraries and finally Google Scholar was performed for records through December 2007 to identify articles of all studies with actual subjects aimed to assess the effects of assistive social robots on the elderly. This search was completed with information derived from personal expertise, contacts and reports. Study Selection and Data Extraction Since no randomized controlled trials (RCT)’s have been found within this field of research, all studies reporting effects of assistive robotics in elderly populations were included. Information on study design, interventions, controls, and findings were extracted for each article. In medical journals only a few articles were found, whereas about 50 publications were found in literature on ICT and robotics. Data Synthesis The identified studies were all published after 2000 indicating the novelty of this area of research. Most of these publications contain the results of studies that report positive effects of assistive social robots on health and psychological well-being of elders. Solid evidence indicating that these effects can indeed be attributed to the actual assistive social robot, its behavior and its functionality is scarce. Conclusions There is some qualitative evidence as well as limited quantitative evidence of the positive effects of assistive social robots with respect to the elderly. The research designs, however, are not robust enough to establish this. Confounding variables often cannot be excluded. This is partly due to the chosen research designs, but also because it is unclear what research methodology is adequate to investigate such effects. Therefore, more work on methods is needed as well as robust, large-scale studies to establish the effects of these devices.