Robot-assisted care for elderly with dementia: is there a potential for genuine end-user empowerment?

Abstract

In this paper, we describe considerations arising in relation to the achievement of an ethical design process for an assistive care robot within the H2020 project MARIO. Envisaged end-users of the robot are elderly with mild to moderate dementia in residential care and community settings. MARIO aims to achieve a value sensitive design process with significant end-user involvement in the design of the robot, eliciting their preferences regarding desirable functionalities and identifying ethical concerns. The realization of this participatory approach with persons with dementia raises a number of ethical challenges that the project aims to address.