IN a world first, “social” robots will be sent into the homes of people with mild dementia in the City of Whittlesea.
Robots Matilda, Charles, Sophie, Jack and Max will be trialled for their potential to improve the elderly’s well-being, according to La Trobe University academic, Dr Rajiv Khosla.
“These robots will increase the emotional well-being of dementia sufferers through engagement and sensory enrichment – they talk, sing, dance, play games and read the newspaper,” Dr Khosla, the project’s head researcher, said.
“They are unique, the first of their kind to be used therapeutically for dementia sufferers and can even act as communication devices sending emails, reminding patients to take their medicine and alerting nurses or family members if the patient is under any distress.”
The trial, by the university and City of Whittlesea and funded by Alzheimer’s Australia, will run from late February until mid March. Each robot will be placed in the home of one dementia sufferer for two weeks. The well-being of each participant will be measured by surveys and facial expression during robot interaction.
Dr Khosla said the robots would help participants gain confidence in daily tasks.
