A UN report estimates that the number of people aged 60 or over will grow from 962 million worldwide in 2017 to 2,1 billion in 2050 and 3,1 billion in 2100. According to the United Nations report. Health care employs more than 4,5 million nursing and orderly aids, home health care, and personal care aides in the United States alone.
With increasing numbers of older people and a shortage of skilled labor, governments around the world may want to use robots to bridge the gap. While the adoption levels of elderly care robots remain low in comparison to other service robots market segments, the industry has been on the upside in the use of AI-equipped elderly care robots.
Senior citizens may have difficulty keeping themselves busy and active, and companionships can encourage many seniors to participate in daily activities. This is particularly true if they are retired and live alone. Leading a secluded life can lead to a lack of desire to keep your home clean, prepare proper meals, and take care of yourself. This could lead to depression or the inability to socialize.
In this article, we will look at some of the top companion and social robots for the elderly.
1.ElliQ
ElliQ is an “aging companion,” launched by Intuition Robotics, a startup founded in Israel in 2016. Designed to keep elders active, independent, and engaged, ElliQ is a robot-associate named after Norse goddess that represents old age. ElliQ is a tabletop that illuminates when you call it. Besides wellness and environmental monitoring, it uses machine learning and computer vision to provide proactive suggestions, entertainment, and activities.
Its design was inspired by the animation lamp in the Pixar logo. ElliQ does not have a face, arms or legs, but talks while keeping her human partner active and active. The robot imitates user-to-user head motions. She can look up and be excited. ElliQ is an easy-to-use social partner. She answers her phone, reads emails, and plays her partner’s music.
The robot can remind people to take their medicines or arrange cabs. It can also recall the owner’s appointments and prompt suggestions relevant to the current schedule. Older users can play games, access social media, and conduct on-screen video chats to stay connected to the outside world. ElliQ may suggest music, podcasts, or audiobooks that the user may enjoy and may also recommend health activities such as walking when the user has been engaged in long-term sedentary activity.
2. ROBEAR
RIKEN and Sumitomo Riko Limited scientists have developed ROBEAR, a nursing robot that can do tasks such as lifting a patient from a bed in a wheelchair or supporting a patient who is standing but needs help.
A successor to RIBA (2009) and RIBA-II (2011), ROBEAR is lighter than its predecessors, weighing just 140 kilograms compared to RIBA-II’s 230 kilograms, and it incorporates several features that enable it to exert force in a gentle way.
This robot is like a giant, gentle, cartoon-shaped bear. It has actuators with a meager gear ratio, which enables joints to move very fast and accurately. It also includes three types of sensors: torque sensors and tactile rubber-type capability sensors that allow gentle movement and ensure that the robot carries out power-intensive tasks such as lifting patients without jeopardizing them.
3. SAM
Founded in 2013, Luvozo created SAM, a robot companion that enhances the quality of life for elderly and disabled people. This daily companion aims to prevent the isolation of older people and to prevent them from falling. In July 2015, Luvozo began testing SAM is a leading senior community in Washington, D.C.
The human-sized, smiling robot combines state-of-the-art technology to provide residents with frequent inspection and non-medical care. SAM’s main goals were to cope with the increased operating costs, staff turnover, accidents, and isolation of the elderly. SAM enables healthcare workers to guarantee remote monitoring, physical safety, and communication between residents, loved ones, and staff.
The robot has a display and cameras that nurses can use to track and make sure they are good visually. This reduces employee intervention and travel, maximizing time, and task management. The humanoid also has sensors and SAM Fall Assessment System software. This technological package allows him to move, thus preventing falls by identifying the pitfalls. It’s a mobile robot, telepresence. Older people can see and interact with their on-screen interlocutors. They feel accompanied and obviously, feel less alone.
4. Zora
Zora is an interactive caregiver who joins residents in aerobics and singing, playing games and reading. Zora weighs only 5,7 kg and is just over 57 cm. While Zora is small, she speaks an impressive nineteen languages. Zora takes care of both children and adults.
Controlled by health professionals via tablet, Zora can lead a physical therapy class, read TV shows, weather forecasts, or local news. Assisted living facilities in adopting Zora to keep their residents entertained and active with dance and exercise.
Over 1,000 robots were sold to hospitals and care facilities so dar. The Belgian company Zora Bots makes friendly, intelligent companions with only one goal: to make your life more comfortable, fun, healthier, and relaxed. Naturally, Zora is not a substitute for a trained human caregiver or health care worker, but she makes people smile!
5. iPal
AvatarMind’s iPal is a humanoid robotic caregiver, designed to serve children and the elderly as a social companion, educator, and safety monitor. This mobile robot has legs mounted on wheels to move around the house. It can sing, dance, chat, and provide essential services. It has a wide range of motion in its arms and neck, built-in obstacle avoidance software, and a low gravity center that increases its stability. It’s 3.5 feet tall, 27.5 pounds, and comes with a built-in camera, five microphones, and WiFi / Bluetooth capabilities.
The technology allows the robot to record video and sound that can provide the best support for clinicians and family members. Family members can watch their beloved from or outside their rooms and can even interact with their beloved person remotely via iPal.
iPal provides drug reminders and other health services. iPal can also alert emergency services. It uses the Android operating system, which makes it able to run standard Android apps on the screen on its chest. Some tactile sensors are even used to feel physical interaction. iPal’s are best for seniors who need more than just conversation, but entertainment, connection, and care.
6. Care-O-Bot
Moin’s Care-O-Bot 4 is a mobile robot assistant to help the elderly in their daily lives. The new model has been updated to improve social interactions, mobility, and adaptability. It is intended to be an affordable care option with six configurable models that enable the user to measure the model according to the user’s needs and budget. It has a vaguely humanoid shape with a round head, arms, hands, trays and a rolling base. It can perform a range of household tasks such as delivering food, drinks, and medications to the user and assisting in cooking and cleaning. It can place emergency calls, host video conferences, and engage in conversations.
It features a touch screen, microphones, and speakers for multimodal user input. Face cameras allow it to adjust its behavior based on gesture and user interface recognition. A Care-O-Bot can speak through LEDs, sounds, speech-to-speech, laser, and body gestures. It is built on an open-source operating system that can be continuously changed and improved. Currently, Care-O-Bots have been successfully used in German, providing health care, companionship, and cognitive stimulation.
7. BUDDY
Blue Frog Robotics’ Buddy is an emotional companion connecting, protecting, and interacting with each family member. Designed to be a great companion for senior citizens, BUDDY can secure, assist, connect, and entertain elders at home or in older homes. He is also the perfect emotional robot to teach and play with special needs children. This market-ready, sensitive platform, and robot solution addresses robot manufacturers, distributors, or licensees who need “smart” and emotional capabilities robots.
It has a small, dome-shaped body on a fully mobile platform with three wheels. Its oblong face is full of cartoonish emotions. Buddy provides a variety of services, including home protection, social interaction, personal support, multimedia, entertainment, calendar reminders, and interactive interfaces. While a user is away, BUDDY patrols the home, alerting users of any unusual activity. It includes real-time house mapping, location, remote control, autonomous collision, and obstacle avoidance. It connects to all home smart devices that users can control through BUDDY.
It offers mobile telepresence, including Skype and Facetime connections, photo and video sharing, and social media connection. It can help user-set reminders, alarm clocks, and to-do lists and provide practical information such as weather forecasts, recipes, and traffic. It can be a storyteller or an interactive teacher. BUDDY can detect falls or unusual events in the elderly and alert emergency services. BUDDY has speech recognition software; home and object detection, recognition, and tracking capabilities.
