Claims
Positive and Negative effects for each stakeholder:
For each of the stakeholders, there are several positive and negative effects we expect our system to have. On this page, they are listed for each stakeholder, with the distinction between positive and negative effects. Not all of these effects might be applicable to each use case, as the use cases take on different approaches and tackle different problems - with different solutions and outcomes of course.
Person with dementia:
The person with dementia is the central stakeholder in the developed system. The system has been designed mainly for their safety. The different actions the robot takes can have several effects on their emotional state, as well as their physical condition. The most important and frequently appearing ones are shown below:
| Claim | Positive/Negative | Description | Explanation |
| CL01 | + | The user is prevented from getting lost | If the interaction with our system is successful, it will prevent the the person with dementia from going out. If they are in the safe comfort of their care home, there is no way they wil get wrapped up in dangerous or stressful situations outdoors. This could prevent both physical and mental injuries, and can thus be considered a very positive effect. |
| CL02 | + | The user's mood is improved | As the system will be as friendly and helpful as possible, an annoyed person with dementia may be relieved after talking to it. The music used may also bring about positive emotions in the minds of the people interacting with it. |
| CL03 | + | The response to the user is appropriate | After the system interprets and processes what the user has told it, it will presumably reason about what to respond. By having the system reason about the concepts introduced to it we believe it will be able to generate a response that is correct and logical to say after what the user said. |
| CL05 | + | The user is willing to wait for the caretaker | The person with dementia will want to go out for a walk as soon as possible. However, as our system will be friendly and helpful, call the caretaker immediately after saying it will, and entertain the person with dementia in the meantime, we expect these people to be patient enough to stay a few more seconds, until the caretaker has arrived. |
| CL06 | + | The user entertains themselves inside | In its attempts to prevent the person with dementia from going out, our system will provide one of several different alternatives to them. They can perform these activities indoors, removing the need to go out. We expect that these activities will help distract people and keep them entertained without going out. |
| CL07 | + | The user notices the system | Before the system is able to interact with a person with dementia, these two parties need to be aware of each other. More precisely, we need the system to get the attention of the person with dementia before we can expect the interaction to be successful. Using greeting gestures and speech, we expect the system will be able to make the user aware of its presence and successfully initiate the conversation. |
| CL08 | + | The user is subtly brought back to reality | If a person with dementia is in a mentally disoriented state, the system will try to subtly remind them of their current situation. This is done through hints at the caretaker, someone they know who is purely associated with the care home, but also through music and alternative activities. This may not have a large effect on all people, but should be enough to bring some of them back to reality. |
| CL09 | - | The user feels they are losing their freedom | In cases where a person with dementia is not brought back to reality, they might feel like they are being kept in against their will. This can make them discontent, and possibly even angry. Unfortunately, we cannot just let them roam around outside and this confinement is needed to ensure their safety. |
| CL10 | - | The user feels dependent on others | When a person with dementia wants to take a walk, they are allowed to, but under the supervision of a caretaker. As a result, they might feel like they cannot take a walk without said caretaker, and feel helplessly dependent on them. This can decrease their sense of autonomy and affect their mental state negatively, but there is unfortunately no effective way to counteract it. |
| CL13 | - | The user gets annoyed by the robot | Despite the system being friendly, some people might be annoyed by its ways. For example, if someone who dislikes puzzles gets told to do a puzzle, they may be very reluctant. If they see the caretakers as somehow evil, they might even feel like they are being tattled on by something that is supposed to be their robot friend. This is not good for their attitude regarding the system. The first problem could potentially be solved by using preference profiles for each person in the care home, but the other one is more difficult to deal with as the caretaker plays an important role in keeping the person with dementia safe. |
Caretaker:
The second important stakeholder of the system is the caretaker. By preventing people with dementia in the care home from going out, the system aims to give these people more time to take up the important tasks around the home without having to worry about people leaving. For these stakeholders, the most important effects are once again listed.
| Claim | Positive/Negative | Description | Explanation |
| CL11 | + | Caretakes have more time to tend to other matters | As previously described, the system is aimed at making sure people don't leave the building to make sure the caretaker does not have to. As the caretaker does not need to constantly supervise people at risk of doing so, they can complete other tasks in time that would normally be spend watching the people with dementia. The system also cuts down the time caretakers might normally need to spend to bring wandering people with dementia back to safety. |
| CL14 | + | Caretakers are alerted once a user leaves the home | When the system notices a person with dementia does not deviate from their plan to go outside, it will alert a caretaker. This caretaker can then immediately take any steps necessary to stop or find the person with dementia. The caretaker knows when they need to act and can thus act more effectively and faster than when they are not notified. |
Family member:
Besides the direct stakeholders that reside in the same environment of the system, people outside this environment can also be affected. The most prominent category of these people are the family members of the people with dementia. In the case where a person with dementia gets lost, these family members may be very worried about their wellbeing, and may need to throw out their entire schedule in order to find this person and bring them back to safety as soon as possible. We expect these people will experience the following effects.
| Claim | Positive/Negative | Description | Explanation |
| CL12 | + | Less worrying about their loved one | We expect that people worry a lot about their family members if they don't know where they are and if they are safe. This means that people with dementia wandering and getting lost without any supervision will cause a lot of stress for their family members. If the system successfully prevents this, this will result in less stress for the family members. |
| CL15 | + | Stick to their schedule | If a person with dementia wanders and gets lost, a lot of knowledge about places they might go is needed to locate this person quickly. Family members often have more of this knowledge than caretakers, and are thus a required factor in the search for a person with dementia. Furthermore, their numbers will help speed up the search. If our system successfully prevents a person with dementia from wandering, it means the family members no longer need to throw out their schedule to help search for them, and can instead to the things they planned on doing. |
General claims:
Not all claims relate to specific stakeholders. Some are more general, but still key to our system. Such claims might be relatively subtle in the bigger picture but are still important for the efficacy of the system.
| Claim | Positive/Negative | Description | Explanation |
| CL04 | + | The music fits the situation or place | When interacting with a person with dementia, the system may deploy music to convince them to stay inside. If it does, it is important that this music supports the intended meaning of whatever the system tries to convey to the person with dementia. By selecting specific tracks for specific cases, the person with dementia will hear music that makes them feel like they should behave the way the system suggests. |