Effects of different cognitive functions on the understanding of robot speech
T. Ogawa
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AbstractCurrently, one in four older adults in Japan, the world's oldest population, has dementia or pre-dementia, and it is estimated that by 2025 there will be seven million older adults with dementia, putting pressure on the care and welfare system due to a shortage of workers. This trend is not limited to Japan; globally, the number of older people with dementia is expected to increase to 131 million by 2050, and dementia prevention is recognized as an urgent global issue. In response, in 2015, the World Health Organization (WHO) recognized dementia prevention as an urgent global challenge and called for a global initiative to prevent dementia. In addition, the challenge of providing care and medical services to dementia patients in remote areas, such as rural and mountainous regions, where the risk of dementia is high, is also being addressed, and the use of digital devices, such as social robots, is expected to compensate for the shortage of human resources in remote areas. However, a sub-study of e-VITA found that people with reduced cognitive function were unable to understand digital speech. Our presentation purpose is to publish the test results of the sub-study in e-VITA on people with cognitive decline and their understanding of human speech, to summaries alternative communication methods for the older adults, and to discuss the technical requirements and essential features for the development of conversational social robots that are easy to use for older adults with dementia, contributing to bridging the digital divide among older adults.Keywords: frailty, dependence, services architecture, machine learning techniques
T. Ogawa (2024). Effects of different cognitive functions on the understanding of robot speech. Gerontechnology, 23(2), 4-4
https://doi.org/10.4017/gt.2024.23.s.1105.4.sp