Pet-Robot or Appliance? Care Home Residents with Dementia Respond to a Zoomorphic Floor Washing Robot

Title of the Paper

Pet-Robot or Appliance? Care Home Residents with Dementia Respond to a Zoomorphic Floor Washing Robot

Paper Information

• Subject Area: Application and design of care robots in dementia care environments
• Keywords: assistant robots, social robots, character design, field study, dementia, care homes, toys, pretend play, playful design

Research Background and Problem

• Identified Problems or Challenges: Traditional functional assistant robots, such as the Roomba vacuum cleaner, have been successful in domestic settings but may cause anxiety and discomfort in care home environments, especially for elderly residents with dementia. Dementia care environments require specially designed technological solutions tailored to the needs of patients.
• Motivation and Related Work: In the deployment of traditional robotics in care homes, functionality and sociality are often treated as separate aspects, overlooking the question of whether robots in shared spaces should take on social roles. While many studies focus on social pet robots (e.g., Paro), there is limited exploration of functional robots that combine practical tasks with social interaction. The psychological and cognitive characteristics of dementia patients necessitate designs that ensure safety and reduce confusion.

Proposed Solution

• Proposed Solution: The authors designed a "playful floor-cleaning robot named Sanne," which features a cartoon-like cat appearance. It performs cleaning tasks while its playful design and interactive behaviors aim to reduce fear and evoke a sense of relaxation and enjoyment.
• Innovations:
  • A design concept that integrates robot functionality with social roles.
  • The use of character design methods, employing cartoonish and playful aesthetics to reduce perceived threats.
  • Insights into dementia patients suggest that robots can facilitate the acceptance of new technologies through "pretend play."
• Implementation Steps and Key Technologies:
  1. Conduct on-site observations of daily activities in care homes to identify floor-cleaning needs.
  2. Iteratively design the robot based on observations and interviews, progressing from sketches to video scene animations, and finally to a physical prototype.
  3. Develop a prototype robot using the TurtleBot platform for remote control.
  4. Conduct field studies to explore residents' responses to different designs and functionalities of the robot.

Research Outcomes

• Specific Outcomes:
  1. Dementia patients generally accepted the robot's functionality and role within the care home.
  2. When introduced as a floor-cleaning robot, residents showed higher acceptance and spontaneously engaged in pretend play (e.g., perceiving the robot as a cartoon pet).
  3. Most residents interacted with the robot as if it were a pet while simultaneously recognizing it as a machine.
  4. Over repeated interactions, residents became more familiar with the robot and exhibited more natural responses to its behavior.
• Advantages Compared to Existing Solutions:
  • Unlike traditional cleaning robots (e.g., Roomba), Sanne did not provoke anxiety or resistance and was more readily perceived as a "safe" presence.
  • The innovative playful design improved interaction quality with dementia patients and enhanced the robot's social acceptability.
• Experimental or Evaluation Results:
  • Video analysis conducted in two care homes with 30 residents recorded 16 positive reactions, 11 neutral reactions, 9 no reactions, and only 1 negative reaction.
  • Residents quickly identified the robot's functionality and spontaneously engaged in pretend play (e.g., mimicking interactions with a pet) to establish a connection with it.
• Limitations and Future Directions:
  • The current robot prototype does not yet integrate actual cleaning functionality, necessitating future investigation into the combined performance of cleaning and interaction modes.
  • Further research is needed to determine how to indicate the robot's current task mode (e.g., "cleaning" or "ready for interaction") during operation.
  • Potential development of the robot's ability to "understand simple commands" could enhance residents' sense of control during interactions.