Robots help improve independence of elderly

In light of the positive results of the trial, the government will consider establishing interactions with such robots as one of the priority areas for the use of robots in elderly nursing care, and promoting the development and use of communication robots.

There are currently five priority areas — including mobility aid, monitoring people with senile dementia, and bathing assistance — established as part of efforts to improve the independence of people who need nursing care while also reducing the burden on care workers.

The study was conducted by the Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development between August last year and March this year. About 1,000 commercial robots of 17 kinds — such as Pepper and Palro — were dispatched to 98 nursing facilities, with the participation of 866 people aged 65 or older who need nursing care.

The researchers used a World Health Organization index to determine the participants’ levels of independence, using a list of about 60 questions such as whether they can walk to the bathroom or brush their teeth. Care workers at the facilities and other staff rated participants’ behavior with rankings ranging from five to eight levels, both before and after they communicated with a robot.

In the case of an 88-year-old woman who spends most of her day lying in her room, a robot suggested to her that she have some tea whenever it detected she had been lying on the bed for a long time. She would then go into the living room using a walker and prepare tea. This example showed that the robot prompted her to engage in an activity that tends to be reduced as people get older.

The researchers analyzed various cases and concluded that communication robots produce positive effects in three fields: self care, or managing one’s own health; exercise and mobility, which includes walking and moving one’s limbs; and social life, including participating in events.

“Improved independence was seen not only in communication, as the participants enjoyed conversations, but also in other fields. We expect the range of the robots’ activities will expand in the future,” said Yayoi Okawa, a guest researcher at the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology who was in charge of the study.Speech