A robotic coach architecture for multi-user human-robot interaction (RAMU) with the elderly and cognitively impaired

Abstract

The population in the US is aging rapidly. By 2030, twenty percent of the US population will be 65 years or older. Both physical and mental health conditions impact older adults' overall quality of life. Recently, Socially Assistive Robotic (SAR) systems have been developed to augment the existing resource-strained healthcare facilities. Several SAR systems were developed to maintain and/or improve older adults' physical, cognitive functioning and social well-being. However, there is limited work on closed-loop SAR systems that can simultaneously engage more than one older adult. In this paper, we developed a robotic coach architecture, RAMU, for interacting with two older adults. In addition, a preliminary study was conducted with four pairs of older adults with and without cognitive impairment. Survey results indicated that participants enjoyed interacting with the robot as well as with each other.