Robots for Older Adults
As the population of older adults rises, we are investigating ways that technology can support healthy aging in the home and wellness in skilled nursing facilities. This work is supported by the NSF (under award IIS-2112633) and NIH (under award 1R01AG078124).
Problem
Increases in life expectancy foreshadow the need for new resources for the care of older adults in the United States and beyond. In many older adult communities, shortcomings are already present in resources available to encourage physical activity, cognitive exercise, social connectedness, and entertainment for residents (among other areas).
Solution
To ensure healthy aging opportunities for older adults, we propose to: (1) design autonomous robotic systems to support the above-mentioned types of needs; (2) enable these systems with the ability to learn and adapt over time to maintain relevance and interest; and (3) to deploy these robotic systems for extended periods of time in the environments of interest. This last step is vital for truly understanding how and whether this type of robotic system can lead to meaningful change in wellness-related outcomes (e.g., physical abilities, cognitive function, psychological well-being). Importantly, our proposed system aims to augment, not replace, human-led care by filling in gaps that human staff are not currently able to cover (e.g., supporting exercise routines for functional maintenance after rehabilitation or between visits with a physical therapist).
People
- Rhian Preston (PhD Student)
- Ramya Challa (PhD Student)
- Jai'La Crider (MS Student)
- Jorge Ruballos (MS Student)
- Kate Metcalf (Undergraduate Researcher)
Publications
- Triniti Armstrong, Nnamdi Nwagwu and Naomi T. Fitter, "Should Assistive Feeding with the Stretch Robot Use Expressive Motion?," Proceedings of the Assistive Robotics for Citizens Workshop, held in conjunction with the IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS), Detroit, MI, USA, 2023. [BibTeX] [PDF]
- Rhian C. Preston, Madison R. Shippy, Carolyn M. Aldwin, and Naomi T. Fitter, "Toward Robot-Mediated Physical Activity in Skilled Nursing Facilities," Proceedings of the Geriatronics: AI and Robotics for Health & Well-Being in Older Age Workshop, held in conjunction with the IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS), Detroit, MI, USA, 2023. [BibTeX] [PDF]
- Madison R. Shippy, Rhian C. Preston, and Naomi T. Fitter, "Uncouth Robot Behaviors: Where is the Line between Playfulness and Appropriateness in Interactions with Elders?," Proceedings of the Geriatronics: AI and Robotics for Health & Well-Being in Older Age Workshop, held in conjunction with the IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS), Detroit, MI, USA, 2023. [BibTeX] [PDF]
- Madison R. Shippy, Abigail I. R. Leader, and Naomi T. Fitter, "Design Thinking for a Robotic Poker Dealer," Proceedings of the SociAL roboTs for peRsonalized, continUous and adaptIve aSsisTance (ALTRUIST) Workshop, held in conjunction with the 2022 International Conference on Social Robotics (ICSR), Florence, Italy, 2022. [BibTeX] [PDF]