Functions
Requirements
Below we define the requirements for certain action steps in detail. Along with this for each requirement you can see the feature descriptions in detail. These requirements are utilized in use cases, hence each one can be seen in context under that section.
| No. | REQUIREMENTS |
| RQ001 | Pepper knows the stage of dementia of PwD in order to ask questions in appropriate format. |
| This requirement comes directly from HCP, or is either pre-programmed into Pepper before hand. It ensures that Pepper asks questions in such a way that depending on the stage of dementia of the PwD, they are able to understand it. In order to fulfill this requirement Pepper needs a functioning speaker that can output speech. | |
| RQ002 | Pepper knows the date and time. |
| This requirement deals with knowing the appropriate time of the day. It comes in handy when dealing with reminder tasks, and is utilized to know when certain reminders should be activated during the day. | |
| RQ003 | Pepper understands the response from PwD. |
| After having asked something, it is crucial that Pepper is able to understand what the PwD just said. Moving on to the next action step would require Pepper to do this, otherwise it would be stuck in a loop of "I did not understand." | |
| RQ005 | Pepper understands if the PwD is awake. |
| This is a specific requirement that occurs during the wake up routine use case. Here understanding whether the PwD is awake is important for the alarm/musical setting. If the PwD is not awake, the volume of the music is increased to ensure they are awake. | |
| RQ006 | Pepper knows the activity breakdown of the requested activity. |
| This is a crucial requirement before performing the activity breakdown use case. If the activity breakdown is not given, the functionality can not be used. Here an HPC, or a caregiver inputs the breakdown steps of the activity beforehand to ensure it can be executed at a late time. | |
| RQ007 | Pepper knows the appropriate medication for the time of the day. |
| When reminding the PwD about their medication, it is also important for Pepper to know (pre-programmed or entered by HCP) which medication is correct for that time of day. | |
| RQ008 | Pepper has access to the PwD's calendar. |
| This requirement deals with reminding the PwD about an upcoming calendar event. Pepper should have access to such a calendar, or the HCP can also enter this prior to the event reminders. |
Key Use Case Functionality
Medication reminder
Initial Situation
At a preset time each day, Pepper plays preselected music and engages with the PwD, and asks him/her to take their medicine. Pepper will continue to ask the PwD to take their medication until he/she does.
Patients response
Two cases are possible. First, the patient has either already taken their medicine and would tell Pepper so. Otherwise, the patient will be reminded to take their medicine until the PwD does so. Playing music before reminding the PwD about their medication will help the patients to build up a routine and makes the experience more enjoyable.
Meal reminder
Initial Situation
At a preset time each day, Pepper plays preselected music and engages with the PwD, and asks him/her to eat. Pepper will continue to ask the PwD to eat until he/she does.
Patients response
Two cases are possible. First, the patient has either already eaten and would tell Pepper so. Otherwise, the patient will be reminded to eat until the PwD does so. Playing music before reminding the PwD about their meal will help the patients to build up a routine and makes the experience more enjoyable.
Calendar Event reminder
Initial Situation
Sometime before an upcoming event in which the PwD is invited, Pepper will play some music and remind the PwD to prepare for it. Pepper will then ask the PwD how they feel about the event and wish them to enjoy it.
Patients response
As the patient is reminded about their event it will prevent the PwD to forget about it and miss it. Moreover, talking to Pepper about the upcoming event could both calm them and make them apprehend the event more peacefully.
Wake up Routine
Initial Situation
At a preset time each day, Pepper plays preselected music and increases the volume slowly to wake up the patient as smoothly as possible and engages with the PwD and asks him/her to eat. Pepper will continue to ask the PwD to eat until he/she does.
Patients response
The patient will wake up peacefully and will be supported in his/her first daily activities. The two mains advantages to these features are:
- Slowly waking up the PwD will calm the patient and will make him/her feel supported by its environment.
- Helping the PwD in setting up a routine will increase his/her quality of life and reduce the workload of the caretakers
Activity Breakdown
Initial Situation
When there's a preset activity comes, Pepper would play some music first to get attention, and then ask the patient whether they want to do the activity or not. If the patient says no, Pepper would stop the activity. If the patient says yes, Pepper would start the activity with small steps.
Patients response
The patient would start to follow the steps. After every step, Pepper would ask the patient if he/she catches up. If yes, Pepper will move to the next step. If not, the patient can choose to redo the last step or stop the activity.