Robotic Partner

Choice of robotic partner

We want the robots to be able to interact with the users through more than just music, so robots such as Pepper, who has an in-built display or NAO, who can interact with a tablet, are considered more suitable than Miro. Furthermore, it might feel unnatural to hear an animal-shaped robot play music rather than animal sounds. A smaller robot, such as NAO, is more suitable when users live (more or less) independently, as it can be moved where it needs to be, does not take up a lot of space. Furthermore, if the user regularly visits care homes, they can take the robot with them without too much trouble.

Goals

The goals of the robotic partner are strongly correlated with the Problem Scenarios and the Use Cases.

Daily routines

The main goal of the robotic partner is to help users maintain their daily routines. Towards this end, the robot should be able to display a list of tasks and should also help the users remember to do them. Therefore, the robot should have access to a tablet which can show the list when needed. Daily routines can also include going on walks, so the users should have the option of taking the robot with them or going alone. When they go on their own, the robot should know (roughly) where they are going so it can guess how long it should take the user to get back and alert either family members or care givers if needed. While this might seem to restrict the user's autonomy, if they manage to consistently return home within the estimated time, they will be presented with congratulations, which will reinforce they sense of competence.

Reducing memory deterioration

Another goal is to help reduce memory deterioration. This can be accomplished through an interactive quiz at the end of each day. As discussed in Music and Cognition, music can play an important role in preventing memory loss, so the quiz will focus on associating daily tasks with a piece of music that the user likes. In order to avoid being too repetitive, the tasks in the quiz and their order will be changed. The user will be encouraged to try new activities and expand their daily list with new tasks (associated with music pieces), in order to improve their autonomy and competence.

Support when the user fails to remember tasks

The robot should not discourage the user when they forget to do something. It is in the nature of the illness to be forgetful, so the robot should reassure the users that such things happen to everyone with dementia and that it's completely normal to forget things from time to time. This can help reinforce their relatedness, since they know that there are others struggling like they are.