Intelligent Robotics

Robotics and Autonomous Systems, 2014

• We present a care robot for aging in place by means of fall prevention/detection. • Detailed description of sensor set-up, hardware, and the multimodal user interface. • Detailed description of major software components and implemented robot tasks.

2011 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems, 2011

The paper is addressing several aspects of our work as part of the European FP7 project "CompanionAble" and gives an overview of the progress in developing a socially assistive home robot companion for elderly people with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) living alone at home. The spectrum of required assistive functionalities and services that have been specified by the different end-user target groups of such a robot companion (the elderly, relatives, caregivers) is manifold. It reaches from situation-specific, intelligent reminding (e.g. taking medication or drinking) and cognitive stimulation, via mobile videophony with relatives or caregivers, up to the autonomous detection of dangerous situations, like falls, and their evaluation by authorized persons via mobile telepresence. From the beginning, our approach has been focused on long-term and everyday suitability and low-cost producibility as important prerequisites for the marketability of the robot companion. Against this background, the paper presents the main system requirements derived from user studies, the consequences for the hardware design and functionality of the robot companion, its system architecture, a key technology for HRI in home environments-the autonomous user tracking and searching, up to the results of already conducted and ongoing functionality tests and upcoming user studies.

Proceedings of International Conference on Aging, Disability and Independence (ICADI), Washington DC, USA, 2003

Thanks to recent technological advances, there are now many potential applications for robotics including multi-agent systems. The aim of the RoboCare Project1 is to study issues and challenges involved in the design of systems for the care of the elderly that adopt both fixed and mobile heterogeneous agents. These agents can be robots, intelligent sensors or possibly even humans. RoboCare shares some aspects with other projects for the assistance of elderly people, such as Pearle, the mobile robotic assistant for the elderly [9] ...

Frontiers in Neurology

Objective: We focused on identifying the requirements and needs of people suffering from Alzheimer disease and early dementia stages with relation to robotic assistants. Methods: Based on focus groups performed in two centers (Poland and Spain), we created surveys for medical staff, patients, and caregivers, including: functional requirements; human-robot interaction, the design of the robotic assistant and user acceptance aspects. Using Likert scale and analysis made on the basis of the frequency of survey responses, we identified users' needs as high, medium, and low priority. results: We gathered 264 completed surveys (100 from medical staff, 81 from caregivers, and 83 from potential users). Most of the respondents, almost at the same level in each of the three groups, accept robotic assistants and their support in everyday life. High level priority functional requirements were related to reacting in emergency situations (calling for help, detecting/removing obstacles) and to reminding about medication intake, about boiling water, turning off the gas and lights (almost 60% of answers). With reference to human-robot interaction, high priority was given to voice operated system and the capability of robotic assistants to reply to simple questions. conclusion: Our results help in achieving better understanding of the needs of patients with cognitive impairments during home tasks in everyday life. This way of conducting the research, with considerations for the interests of three stakeholder groups in two autonomic centers with proven experience regarding the needs of our patient groups, highlights the importance of obtained results.

Paladyn, Journal of Behavioral Robotics, 2021

This article is a retrospective overview of work performed in the domain of Active Assisted Living over a span of almost 18 years. The authors have been creating and refining artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics solutions to support older adults in maintaining their independence and improving their quality of life. The goal of this article is to identify strong features and general lessons learned from those experiences and conceive guidelines and new research directions for future deployment, also relying on an analysis of similar research efforts. The work considers key points that have contributed to increase the success of the innovative solutions grounding them on known technology acceptance models. The analysis is presented with a threefold perspective: A Technological vision illustrates the characteristics of the support systems to operate in a real environment with continuity, robustness, and safety; a Socio-Health perspective highlights the role of experts in the socio...

2010

Gerontechnology, 2012

Purpose Our purpose was to develop, by combining architectural and robotic elements, a system that assists elderly people to live self-sufficiently at home. Unlike many other assistance systems our system exploits the ceiling space in order to avoid collisions with conventional living functions. Method Elderly people face numerous limitations in their everyday life. The simplest regular tasks a healthy individual performs appear quite different from the perspective of the ageing adult. Healthcare and mobility usually appear as distant services in cases of isolated individuals or lack of transportation due to disability. This paper deals with the development of a novel multi-robot assistant system (MARS), which can be used to provide indoor quality services to the ageing society. In order to realize the MARS concept the following development approach was used: (i) research and identification of needs; (ii) definition of requirements; (iii) identification of technologies and processes; (iv) initial concept; (v) experiments in real environment; and (vi) final concept and further development roadmap. Results & Discussion A ceiling suspended robotic system is proposed, navigating with the aid of a grid-type rail system among various rooms within a residence. This enables efficient space utilization since it occupies the redundant area of the ceiling. Various types of services can be provided by the proposed system such as health monitoring, infotainment, communications, problem solving, movement assistance, etc. A vision system aids in obtaining accurate information on the location of the individual within the residence, and in guiding the whole system during the operation of the required tasks. A series of experiments were conducted in order to define the proposed system specifications. Verification experiments in a real residence with three different individuals were performed, in order to calculate the forces applied to the human body while sitting and standing up ). This type of movement is the most awkward and laborious for elderly people. MRAS can assist elderly people by using a flexible pulling wire which can be easily either grabbed by the user or fastened onto.

International Journal of Social Robotics, 2013

Demographic developments have challenged our research on how to assist elderly people by using robots. The KSERA (Knowledgeable SErvice Robots for Aging) project integrates smart home technology and a sociallyassistive robot to extend independent living for elderly people, in particular those with COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease). The social robot is the most visible component of the system playing the role of communication interface between the elderly, the smart home, and the external world. The robot's behavior is determined in part by sensor information gathered through the smart home. To ensure user acceptance, we used user-centered design to implement the robot's behavior. This paper describes the KSERA system, how it was developed based on user needs, treatment plans, and lab studies, and how we validated the approach through user studies and field trials. The key enabling technologies for successful socially-assistive robots include person-and self-localization abilities, person-aware navigation, speech recognition and generation, robot gestures, emulated emotions, eye contact and joint attention, and audiovideo communication with family members and care givers.

2001

This paper describes the state-of-the art of a large-scale project, aimed towards the development of personal service robots for the elderly population. Taking care of elderly and chronically ill people is one of the major challenges currently faced by society. Needs range from increasing articulation to assisting those with dementia and cognitive impairment. To respond to this challenge, we have developed a first prototype robot. Using natural language, the robot can provide information related to activities of daily living obtained from the Web. It also enables remote care-givers to establish a "tele-presence" in people's home, by relaying back video and audio stream through the Next Generation Internet. The paper describes this early prototype, and it lays out our research agenda towards building service robots for the elderly.

Proceedings of AAAI spring symposium on interaction challenges for intelligent assistants, 2007

The ROBOCARE project is aimed at creating an instance of integrated environment with software and robotic agents to actively assist an elderly person at home. In particular the project has synthesized a proactive environment for continuous daily activity monitoring in which an autonomous robot acts as a main interactor with the person. This paper accounts for the combination of features that create interactive capabilities for personalized and mixed-initiative interaction with the assisted person.