A recent study published in ScienceDirect, “Social robot in service of the cognitive therapy of elderly people: Exploring robot acceptance in a real-world scenario,” found promise in using social robots that project empathy to carry out cognitive testing for older adults.

How Social Robots Can Help Older Adults

Social robots interact with people and can help provide older adults with companionship, engagement, and assistance with daily tasks. The study notes that social robots can also help older adults interact with digital technology, therapy, cognitive training, social facilitation, companionship, and physical therapy.

While other research had already found that robots could effectively conduct cognitive tests, this study examined older adults’ response to robots that used empathy. The 26 older adults interacted with the social robot Furhat, which has an expressive face with human dimensions. Furhat can understand and respond to spoken language naturally. It can offer evaluations to assess an older adult’s mental flexibility, linguistic ability, and executive function. For the research, Furhart greeted participants and administered neuropsychological tests to evaluate their cognitive function.

Study participants gave Furhart a positive reception and identified a few opportunities for improvement that can guide future use of social robots.

Positive Results

After interacting with Furhart, the study participants were smiling. Participants said they could talk with Furhart easily and felt comfortable. They also felt relaxed and that they were not being judged.

Participants agreed that a social robot could support their wellness and health, keeping them mentally active and providing companionship. They were also open to having a social robot as a home personal assistant.

Opportunities for Improvement

Study participants also identified some concerns. Some noted that the robot’s voice sounded artificial. Some participants felt uncomfortable when Furhart did not understand their responses. Furhart repeatedly asked some participants sensitive questions, such as to repeat their deceased spouse’s name, which also brought discomfort.

Learnings

The study surfaced three areas that are important in using social robots:

• Provide clear instructions from the social robot to ensure a positive user experience.
• Consider the emotional sensitivities of end-users to create empathetic and human-like interactions with robots.
• Remember that many older people speak in local dialects, which can make communication with robots difficult. Robots need strong language comprehension skills to be effective.

The study authors note that “enthusiasm, recognition of practical benefits and positive emotional responses are significant skills that we need to include in a social robot.”