3. Problem Scenario

Alice Cornelius, 78, is in the early stages of dementia and lives in a small Dutch care home. She enjoys 60s pop music and short afternoon activities. Sometimes she forgets that she has already completed a task or that she still needs to do it. Although she can physically perform light exercise, she lacks initiative without reminders. Caregivers spend significant time prompting her to stay active or hydrated.

Problem: Alice often fails to start planned activities due to short-term and prospective memory lapses. This leads to inactivity and increases caregiver workload. The goal is to design a robot that gently reminds and motivates her, while maintaining her sense of autonomy and social connection.

Entry conditions: The resident is physically able to move with light assistance, can communicate with the robot, and shows mild memory loss but remains socially responsive

Exit criteria: Residents begin more daily activities independently (e.g., dancing or hydration) compared to a baseline week. Caregivers spend less time issuing reminders, and residents continue to interact positively with others, showing no decrease in social engagement.

Refusing compliance: The patient may not comply, believing they have already done the activity, the activity is pointless, or they are not in the mood to do the activity. This requires the robot to foster a level of trust, or to somehow convince, or to back off. (For this, the robot could learn about each individual patient.)