A social robot in long-term care – Use cases, challenges and expectations from the employees' perspective
J. Schoch, K. Baumgärtner, D. Moroz
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AbstractConsidering demographic change, the care sector is facing major challenges. While the proportion of elderly people in need of care is increasing, the number of professional caregivers is declining. For some years now, there has been hope of reducing this discrepancy through digitalization and technological developments. Robotic systems have the potential to reduce caregiver burden and to improve the quality of life of people in need of care (Silvera-Tawil, 2024; Ohneberg et al., 2023). In response to the senior residents' need for social interaction and companionship, the German company navel robotics developed the social robot “Navel”. Based on various AI technologies, Navel (Figure 1) supports nonverbal interaction in addition to verbal communication. It detects non-verbal signals such as facial expressions or direction of gaze and responds with facial expressions and gestures. Navel focuses on cognitive and emotional care activities, providing relief in these areas (Toussaint et al., 2023). A pilot project with Navel is being conducted in two nursing homes of the Evangelische Heimstiftung, a diaconal and non-profit care company in Southern Germany, where Navel is in use since the end of 2023. The acceptance and effects of its use on residents and staff are being evaluated by the intern Institute of Care and Aging.Keywords: social robot, artificial intelligence, long-term care, nursing home, caregivers
J. Schoch, K. Baumgärtner, D. Moroz (2024). A social robot in long-term care – Use cases, challenges and expectations from the employees' perspective. Gerontechnology, 23(2), 1-1
https://doi.org/10.4017/gt.2024.23.s.1122.opp