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Human robot should help dementia patients
Almost 1.6 million people currently live with dementia in Germany, and two thirds of them have Alzheimer's disease. The number of those affected is steadily increasing. Already now more nursing staff would be needed. Affected people should now help human robots. But machines can replace human attention?
Number of dementia patients is rising and rising
Around 47 million people worldwide currently live with dementia. In Germany, Alzheimer's disease accounts for almost 1.6 million people, most of whom have Alzheimer's disease. But the number keeps rising. According to the Alzheimer's report, another dementia diagnosis is added every 3.2 seconds worldwide. As a result, more and more nurses are needed. The "MARIO" project is currently working on human robots designed to help dementia patients. But machines can replace human attention?
For the care of dementia patients more and more staff is needed. In the future, robots that researchers are currently testing could also help. But can machines replace human care? (Image: highwaystarz / fotolia.com) Humanoid robot
The number of dementia patients is growing rapidly and the development of effective treatment methods is progressing, but a cure remains unavailable for the time being.
Therefore, scientists are also concerned with the question of how affected people can be helped by technology.
As part of the research project "Managing active and healthy aging using caring service robots" (MARIO), experts are trying to find ways to make life easier for patients with dementia using the human robot MARIO named after the project.
Involved in the work are scientists from Ireland, France, Great Britain, Europe and Germany. They work closely with nurses, hospitals and robotic companies.
An ethics committee headed by the National University of Ireland, Galway, accompanies the work of the researchers.
"MARIO is an exciting and innovative project that will make an important contribution to improving the quality of life of people with dementia," said Prof. Dr. med. Siegfried glove of the University of Passau in an earlier release.
"This project is working on human-like robots that make everyday life easier," says Prof. Glove.
Human attention through machines?
But can machines replace human care? The Germans are skeptical. In the UK, Ireland and Italy, however, tests with care robots MARIO from the EU project of the same name met with a positive response.
"To put it quite provocatively, these robots could sometimes take care of people with dementia better than an overburdened caregiver," said Prof. glove in a recent press release by the University of Passau, which was published by the "Information Service Science" (idw).
The research team tested the robots for one year in use with dementia patients. In Britain, people shared their machines at home.
Glove holds the Chair of Computer Science with a focus on Digital Libraries and Web Information Systems at the University of Passau. Together with his team, he contributes the software that makes the robot MARIO understand: for language, but also for the mental state of the respective patients.
Consistently positive feedback
From August 2016 to August 2017, the robots accompanied patients in Ireland, Italy and the United Kingdom.
The feedback was consistently positive: "People with dementia like MARIO. It gives them pleasure to interact with the robot. We would have expected the robot to be more skeptical, "said Prof. Dr. med. Glove.
The fact that robots are used as supportive assistants in nursing, for example, for exhausting lifting activities, which, according to a survey, many Germans still can imagine.
It becomes more difficult at the thought that the machines could possibly replace also human attention.
Make life easier for people in need of care
That's exactly what MARIO can do. For example, by not getting tired of asking questions like, "Have you already taken your medicine today?" Or by responding to the patient's state of mind.
"If the robot has learned that the patient may cry every morning because she remembers the deceased man, then the robot can react to it. By comforting while distracting. For example, by showing pictures of beautiful experiences, "explained project member Dr. med. Adamantios Koumpis.
That sounds cold and banal. But for some people in need of care this can make life easier, sometimes even save it. Because the robot would always have its condition in view and could alert the nursing staff as soon as it detects serious changes.
Even changes that may seem positive at first glance: "Take the woman who cries every morning. If she does not do that one morning, it can be an alarm signal, "says Koumpis.
In 2018, the robots are expected to hit the market
The project expires in January 2018, when the robots are expected to hit the market. They should be quite affordable.
For this reason, the scientists are working with a slightly older model, the Kompai 2, developed by the French company Robosoft. They have upgraded this with the software from Passau.
The Passau are specialists in the field of Natural Language Processing, a technology that enables people and machines not only to communicate with each other, but also to learn to understand each other.
"MARIO does not understand everything, especially when someone speaks strong dialect," explained Koumpis. "But it still gives people joy to communicate with them." (Ad)