Project homeIDP: Remind the PwD to engage in painting
Design problem: The PwD likes to paint and was quite enthusiastic about painting in their past life but because of dementia they are not as active and can sometimes forget about what made them happy, who they are and their overall identity. We would like to help them to maintain their identity by engaging in the painting activity which brought them joy and to do that we first like to remind them to do the activity. The Pepper robot in this case tries to trigger the start of the activity.
Design solution: In this design pattern, the robot first instantiates the interaction by first reminding the PwD about the painting activity preferably during their entertainment/break time. The PwD could be feeling bored or be less motivated to do something but because the robot tried to remind and engage them to perform the activity they would likely be inclined to do it.
Use when: During the entertainment/break time when the patients are enjoying.
Design rationale: This design pattern follows the design patterns mentioned in [1], where they show how reminder patterns provide a flexible and powerful way to manage time-based events and actions in a variety of different applications.
Example: Pepper can during the break time approach the PwD and remind them by asking them whether they would like to paint. The PwD can choose to then engage in the activity or not. If they do decide to engage then UseCase 01 will be executed. If they decide to not engage in the activity then Pepper would leave them alone but then ask them after some time again whether they have changed their mind. If they respond no again then Pepper would leave them alone for good.
| Parameter | Choice | Rationale | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gesture Openness | Open | Makes the interaction less formal so that the PwD can familiarize themself better with Pepper. | |
| Proxemic Closeness | Average (close) | Kept close to the PwD. | |
| Voice | Pitch | Middle | A high pitch makes Pepper sound friendly but it should not be too high otherwise the PwD might not be able to hear Pepper well. |
| Speed | Slower than average | Since the PwD are old, a low speech rate will help them understand Pepper better but it should not be too slow otherwise, they will be bored. | |
| Prosody | Strong | The prosody of the voice should be strong so that Pepper can articulate better. | |
| Speech Acts | Informal | An informal tone makes the interaction more comfortable for the participants. | |
| Eye Color | White | The eyes should be white so as to not distract the PwD.
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References:
[1] Gamma, E., Helm, R., Johnson, R.,, Vlissides, J. M. (1994). Design Patterns: Elements of Reusable Object-Oriented Software. Addison-Wesley Professional. ISBN: 0201633612