Robotic Partner

Our chosen robotic partner is the Miro robot.

We opted for this robot, because its dog-like properties support Patients with Dementia (PwD) to recall a collection of memories about a time where things went slower and were less complicated. It emphasizes on the PwD's need to connect with nature and themselves in peace (Han et al., 2015, p. 120). Although the Miro has a limited range of expression, its limitations also make it more accessible for PwD. PwD tend to perform better with simple social interactions and with items that are similar to what they were used to before the onset. 

Although MiRo was the most desirable choice of the available robots, it is not perfect for our use case. MiRo is frail robot that cannot withstand any handling rougher than soft touches. As described in functions, we ideally would want a physical connection to the dog so that the PwD does not lose focus when walking with MiRo. However, given the frailty of MiRo, a physical attachment would likely result in damaging a €2.400 robot. Next to this, MiRo can only be used inside as it cannot go up steps or walk on any rough terrain. With the right robot, PwD could also take walks outside for example.

A feature that we like to get from other robots that we would use for a new prototype would be legs that would be able to go up steps. For example the legs from the Boston Dynamics Robot (todo cite).

We also took a look at other doglike robots.