Therabot-an Adaptive Therapeutic Support Robot

Abstract

Mental health disorders are a prominent problem across the world. An effective treatment has been the use of animal-assisted therapy; however not everyone can interact with and/or care for a live animal. Therabot™ has been developed as an assistive robot to provide therapeutic support at home and in the counseling setting. Therabot™ is designed as a stuffed robotic dog and has adaptive touch sensing to allow for improved human-robot interactions. Through its touch sensing, it will determine if the level of stress of its users is increasing and adapt to provide support during therapy sessions and for home therapy practice. Over time, Therabot™ is expected to learn the preferences of its user and adapt its behaviors.