Title :
Robot Therapy in a Care House - Results of Case Studies -
Author :
Wada, Kazuyoshi ; Shibata, Takanori
Author_Institution :
Intelligent Syst. Res. Inst., AIST, Ibaraki
Abstract :
Robot therapy for elderly residents in a care house has been conducted since June 2005. Two therapeutic seal robots were introduced and activated for over 9 hours every day to interact with the residents. This paper presents the results of this experiment. In order to investigate the psychological and social effects of the robots, the activities of the residents in public areas were recorded by video cameras during daytime hours (8:30-18:00) for over 2 months. In addition, the hormones 17-Ketosteroid sulfate (17-KS-S) and 17-hydroxycorticosteroids (17-OHCS) in the residents´ urine were obtained and analyzed. The results of the urinary tests showed that the reactions of the subjects´ vital organs to stress improved after the introduction of the robots. Furthermore, the results of the case studies indicate that the residents´ social interaction increased through interaction with the seal robots
Keywords :
medical robotics; patient treatment; social aspects of automation; care house; elderly care; elderly residents; hormones Ketosteroid sulfate; human-robot interaction; hydroxycorticosteroids; psychological effects; robot therapy; social effects; social interaction; therapeutic seal robots; urinary tests; Animals; Hospitals; Human robot interaction; Humanoid robots; Intelligent robots; Medical robotics; Medical treatment; Mobile robots; Senior citizens; Testing; Elderly Care; Human-Robot Interaction; Mental Commit Robot; Robot Therapy; Urinary Test;
Conference_Titel :
Robot and Human Interactive Communication, 2006. ROMAN 2006. The 15th IEEE International Symposium on
Conference_Location :
Hatfield
Print_ISBN :
1-4244-0564-5
Electronic_ISBN :
1-4244-0565-3
DOI :
10.1109/ROMAN.2006.314452
