Abstract:
Robots have the potential to enhance the well-being of older adults by facilitating meaningful conversations that encourage reflection on and support various aspects of their wellness. We developed a system for a QT social robot designed to have short, autonomous conversations with older adults, aiming to discover what instills in them a sense of joy and purpose.
The effectiveness of this system was assessed through written surveys and direct observations involving 12 participants, including older adults, their caregivers, and dementia care professionals. The feedback highlighted a need for enhancing the user experience with more personalized interactions that better engage older adults in discussions about their well-being. Enhancements will focus on refining conversation flows, recognizing emotions and nonverbal signals, and employing natural language processing to identify topics related to well-being more effectively.
Reference:
Khoo et al, Companion of the 2023 ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction