Robots offering opportunities for older people

Professor Wendy Moyle shares her knowledge on robots and looks at the research being conducted at Griffith Health Institute (Griffith University) for helping people with dementia and their families.
WHAT IS A ROBOT?
Robots are fast becoming commonplace in society, thanks to the availability of inexpensive robotic hardware. A robot is a mechanical or virtual artificial agent, usually electro-mechanical machines that are guided by a computer program or electronic circuitry. Robots can be autonomous, semi-autonomous or remotely controlled. The range of robots and availability of robots is on the increase as they share the everyday living environments of society. By mimicking a lifelike appearance or automating movements, a robot can convey a sense of intelligence and perform many useful, socially meaningful and productive tasks.
ROBOTS IN EVERYDAY LIFE
Robots can be found in industry, the military and space technologies. Robots in these situations typically undertake jobs that are difficult, time consuming or dangerous such as the detonation of an explosive. They perform the same job day after day with precision and without complaint, as long as they are effectively maintained.
Take a moment to look around your workplace or home and you are likely to find robots, such as those that assist with cleaning, like robotic vacuum cleaners. In Japan, you are likely to find helper robots designed to assist with tasks such as shopping or reading to an individual who is blind or incapacitated. There are also health and medical robots, such as those that provide assistance with lifting heavy objects, or robots that have been designed to automate regular procedures such as maintenance of laundry or pharmaceutical supplies, and more recently for sophisticated surgical interventions that allow procedures to be undertaken with precise precision.
Children are also likely to have entertainment robots including robotic dolls, trucks, dinosaurs, dogs and cats. Many of these do not have an automated ability; instead they work on a loop, whereby their actions are predictable over time. Entertainment robots can have sophisticated automated processors that allow them to dance, sing, communicate and play games, thus offering the opportunity to reduce social isolation and boredom, in particular where people live alone.
SUPPORTING, NOT REPLACING, PEOPLE
The sophistication of humanoid robots has helped to extend ethical conversations about robots in everyday life. A humanoid robot has an appearance akin to a human body and is designed to replicate human intelligence and manoeuvrability. These human-like features are designed to improve acceptability and interaction with real people, in particular when they are used to provide personal assistance. The development of humanoid robots has progressed significantly in recent years and they can now run, climb stairs, push trolleys and serve refreshments. These robots are also being developed in Japan to serve as personal assistants to people with disabilities and cognitive impairment that have lost the ability to perform basic activities of daily living. While critics are concerned that the use of assistant robots will eliminate the important human element of care, such robots are best employed as adjuncts to human care provision, enhancing care provision and reducing costs.
ROBOT CLONES
Dr Ishiguro, a senior researcher at ATR Intelligent Robotics and Communication Laboratories in Japan has created humanoids for companionship and more recently to assist, for example, with dressing patients, administering medications, providing education, and other duties. Dr Ishiguro created a robotic clone of himself using casts of his body, so that the clone represents the features of Dr Ishiguro, including height and body shape. This robot is controlled by a motion-capture interface that allows the robot to imitate Dr Ishiguro’s movements as well as reproduce his voice in sync with his movement. This allows the robot to replace Dr Ishiguro in classroom teaching while he is working in his laboratory or elsewhere.Imagine the possibilities of having a clone to do your work?
ROBOTS & DEMENTIA CARE
At the Griffith Health Institute (Griffith University) we haven’t cloned our researchers or had our offices robotically vacuumed. Instead we have focused on testing companion and telepresence robots for use with people with dementia. Our companion robots are designed as an alternative to real pets. We know that people with dementia tend to withdraw as they lose language skills and that decline in cognitive functioning results in altered communication and depressed mood. These can cause the person with dementia to become socially isolated, to feel lonely, and when needs are unmet this can also lead to the emergence of agitated behaviours. Pets have often been recommended as a way to reduce loneliness in people with dementia, but the presence of live animals in care settings can be problematic. There can be increased stress for animals when they are repeatedly fed and handled, pet behaviours can injure residents, residents can be afraid of animals or be allergic, and the time spent caring for the animal can be a burden on staff. Companion robots are designed to bypass these problems. These robots are highly imitative, exhibit life-like behaviour, model emotional states in response to interaction, and provide alternative models of communication such as tactile-kinaesthetic, visual sensory, emotional and social. Although we do not advocate that pet robots are used instead of human interaction, interaction can also occur between resident and robot without a carer needing to be present.
“While critics are concerned that the use of assistant robots will eliminate the important human element of care, such robots are best employed as adjuncts to human care provision, enhancing care provision and reducing costs.”
One of the companion robots being trialled at Griffith Health Institute, Griffith University is PARO; designed in Japan and shaped like a baby harp seal. PARO is covered in tactile sensors, moves its tail, opens its eyes when petted, responds to sound, light, temperature and touch, and can learn and respond to words as well as show emotions. A randomised controlled trial with 18 aged care residents with moderate to severe dementia found that PARO was associated with improvements in quality of life and pleasure and reductions in anxiety. The pilot study also had some surprising findings. For example, individual residents classified by staff as being non-communicative began speaking to the PARO, asking questions of the PARO or using words such as “You have beautiful eyes” while petting the PARO. We concluded that companion robots like PARO might indeed have a place in improving mood and social interaction in people with dementia. However, further research is required to investigate the benefits of artificial intelligence.
Telepresence robots are also being trialled at Griffith Health Institute. These robots allow two-way video and voice interaction. Giraff is a remotely controlled mobile human height telepresence robot manufactured by Technologies AB in Sweden. Giraff is equipped with a videoconferencing system that includes a video camera, LCD screen, speaker and microphone. Using these systems families can virtually visit people living in a residential care facility, engaging in two-way conversations, with their face appearing on a life-size video screen. They can also remotely move the robot so that objects of interest can be viewed within the environment.
A recent study by our team explored the use of Giraff in a residential aged care facility. Five families were able to connect with Giraff via their home computer and engage in live-streaming video calls with the person with dementia. By recording these conversations we were able to identify the nature of the interaction and each resident’s emotional response. Overall the experience was a positive engaging experience for people with dementia and their families and offered real opportunities for reducing social isolation in aged care.
[caption id="attachment_5164" align="alignright" width="143"] Professor Wendy Moyle
Director Centre for Health Practice Innovation
Griffith Health Institute, Griffith University[/caption]
MOVING FORWARD WITH ROBOTS
The relationship between robotic technology and aging provides both challenges as well as opportunities. The recent technological advancements in robot development, alongside an unprecedented increase in older people requiring assistance with daily living, provides the ideal situation to develop further technologies. However, while we have the technical experience to develop such technologies they must be developed with input from health professionals and potential users so that they can work within the environment intended. Robots that have aesthetic appeal, a friendly interface, are reliable, user centred and cost effective will assist in the adoption of these technologies. It is likely that further development of robot functions and application will continue and become more sophisticated in their use, and this alongside an aging population offers numerous future opportunities to society