Socially Assistive Robotics

Convalescence, rehabilitation, and management of life long cognitive, social and physical disorders requires ongoing behavioral therapy, consisting of physical and/or cognitive exercises that must be sustained at the appropriate frequency and correctness. The intensity of practice and self-efficacy has been shown to be the keys to recovery and minimization of disability. Because of the fast growing demographic trends of many of the affected populations, the available health care needed to provide coaching and supervision for such behavior therapy is already lacking and on a recognized steady decline.

SAR (Socially Assistive Robotics) is a comparatively new field of robotics that focuses on developing robots aimed at addressing precisely this growing need. SAR is developing systems capable of assisting users through social rather than the physical interaction. The robot’s physical embodiment is at the heart of SAR assistive effectiveness, as it leverages the inherently human tendency to engage with lifelike social behavior. People ascribe readily intention, personality and emotion to even the simplest robots, from LEGO toys to iRobot Roomba vacuum cleaners. SAR uses this engagement toward the development of socially interactive robots capable of motivating, monitoring, encouraging, and sustaining user activities and improving human performance.

SAR has the potential to enhance the quality of life for large population of users, including the elderly, individuals with cognitive impairments, those rehabilitating from stroke and other neuromotor disabilities, and children with socio-developmental disorders such as autism. Robots can help to improve the function of a wide variety of people, and can do so not just functionally but also socially, by augmenting and embracing the emotional connection between robot and human.

HRI (Human Robot Interaction for SAR is a growing research area at the intersection of engineering, psychology, social science, health science, and cognitive science. An effective socially assistive robot must understand and interact with environment, focus its attention, exhibit social behavior, and communication on the user, sustain engagement with the user and achieve specific assistive goals.