Abstract — Currently the 2 percent growth rate for the world’s older population exceeds the 1.2 rate for the world’s population as a whole. By 2050, the number of individuals over the age 85 is projected to be three times more than there is today. Most of these individuals will need physical, emotional, and cognitive assistance. In this paper, we present a new adaptive robotic system based on the socially assistive robotics (SAR) technology that tries to provide a customized help protocol through motivation, encouragements, and companionship to users suffering from cognitive changes related to aging and/or Alzheimer’s disease. Our results show that this approach can engage the patients and keep them interested in interacting with the robot, which, in turn, increases their positive behavior. I.

Abstract. Robots have entered our domestic lives, but yet, little is known about their impact on the home. This paper takes steps towards addressing this omission, by reporting results from an empirical study of iRobot’s Roomba™, a vacuuming robot. Our findings suggest that, by developing intimacy to the robot, our participants were able to derive increased pleasure from cleaning, and expended effort to fit Roomba into their homes, and shared it with others. These findings lead us to propose four design implications that we argue could increase people’s enthusiasm for smart home technologies.

This paper presents a hypothesis-testing preliminary study that aims to develop affordable customized socially assistive robotics (SAR) tools that can help to provide cognitive care to users suffering from cognitive changes related to aging and/or Alzheimer’s disease.

Abstract. There is a growing belief that the environment plays an important role in the healing process of patients, supported by empirical findings. Previous research showed that psychological stress caused by loneliness can be reduced by artificial companions. As a pilot application for this purpose, this paper presents an affective agent playing tic-tac-toe with the user. Experimenting with a number of agents under different parameter settings shows the agent is able to show human-like emotional behavior, and can make decisions based on rationality as well as on affective influences. After discussing the application with clinical experts and making improvements where needed, the application can be tested in a clinical setting in future research.

Abstract — We describe the design and implementation of a socially assistive robot that monitors the performance of a user during a seated arm exercise scenario, with the purpose of providing motivation to the user to complete the task and to improve performance. The visual arm pose recognition procedure used by the robot in tracking user performance, the three exercise games, and the methodology behind the humanrobot interaction dialogue are presented. A two-condition experimental study was conducted with elderly participants to test the feasibility and effectiveness of the robot exercise system, the results of which demonstrate the viability and usefulness of the system in motivating exercise among elderly users. S I.

Abstract—The world population is growing older, introducing a wide array of societal challenges. Most elderly individuals require physical and cognitive assistance of some kind. This paper presents a hypothesis-testing preliminary study that aims to develop affordable customized socially assistive robotics (SAR) tools that can help to provide such care. The work aims to use SAR to aid motivation and companionship to users suffering from cognitive changes related to aging and/or Alzheimer’s disease.

Abstract — This research focuses on studying the possible role of a socially interactive robot as a tool for monitoring and encouraging cognitive activities of the elderly and/or individuals suffering from dementia. One of the aims of this work is to show the benefits of the robot’s physical embodiment in humanrobot social interactions. The social therapist robot tries to provide customized cognitive stimulation by playing a music game with the user. The results of the 8-month pilot study depict a more efficient, natural, and preferred interaction with the robot rather than with the simulated robot. I.

The world population is growing older. Global aging is occurring at a rate never seen before, it is expected that in 2040 there will be three times more people over the age 85 than there are today. Population aging is a fundamental transformation of human society and many implications for health and long-term care policy are occuring. Even if nursing homes and other care facilities can provide assistance, space and staff shortages are already becoming an issue. In this paper, a new research work that depicts a music therapist robot that helps people suffering from cognitive changes related to aging and/or Alzheimer’s disease, is presented. The social therapist robot tries to provide customized cognitive stimulation by playing a music game with the participants. This research work presents a 12 months longitudinal study. 1

In contrast to the industrial robots, first developed 50 years ago, to automate dirty, dull, and dangerous tasks, today’s medical and health-care robots are designed for entirely different environments and tasks—those that involve direct interaction with human users in the surgical theater, the rehabilitation center, and the family room. Commercial and research interest in medical and health-care robotics has seen substantial growth in the last decade. Telerobotic systems are being routinely used to perform surgery, resulting in shorter recovery times and more reliable outcomes in some procedures. Robotic rehabilitation systems are successfully delivering physical and occupational therapy, enabling a greater intensity of treatment that is continuously adaptable to a patient’s needs. Socially assistive robotic (SAR) systems are being developed for in-clinic and in-home use in physical, cognitive, and socialexercise coaching and monitoring. Technological advances in robotics have the potential to stimulate the development of new treatments for a wide variety of diseases and disorders, improve both the standard and accessibility of care, and enhance patients ’ health outcomes. The aim of this article is to propose some of the most important capabilities and technical achievements of medical and health-care robotics needed to improve human health and well-being. We describe application areas, societal drivers, motivating scenarios, desired system capabilities, and fundamental research areas that should be considered in the design of medical and health-care robots. Design Considerations Although robots are already beginning to affect human health through clinical use, further research and commercial success will be facilitated through careful consideration of societal drivers for

This paper surveys some of the main ethical issues pertaining to robotics that have been discussed in the literature. We start with the idea of responsibility ascription that arises when an autonomous system malfunctions or harms people. Next, we discuss various ethical issues emerging in two sets of robotic applications: service robots that peacefully interact with humans and lethal robots created to fight in battlefields. Then, we provide a short overview of machine ethics, a new research trend that aims at designing and implementing artificial systems with “morally ” acceptable behavior. We then highlight resulting gaps in legislation, and discuss the need for guidelines to regulate the creation and deployment of such autonomous systems. Often, when designing such systems, the benefits tend to overshadow partly unknown but potentially large negative consequences.