ELTE Researchers Develop Social Robots to Assist Elderly People

Researchers from Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE) are working in an international collaboration to develop a fleet of social robots. Their aim is to design and manufacture robots that can perform social and service functions, for instance in elderly care.

The increase in life expectancy and the development of health services are putting operators of nursing homes under strong pressure. The next decade will see a significant shortage of skilled human resources and a deterioration in the quality of care across the developed world.

Human-robot collaboration could be the answer to the challenges of an ageing society as the population grows.

The international collaboration is composed of PPM Robotics AS (Norway), DLM Solutions Kft. (Hungary), Eötvös Loránd University (Hungary) and Nord University (Norway). Combining their IT and robotics knowledge with the latest research in eldercare and human-robot communication, the experts will develop a system with social and collaborative service robots and an AI-supported workflow management solution for caregivers.

Under the project, the consortium will develop a low-cost mobile fleet of robots capable of performing social and service functions in nursing homes.

The unique multi-modal communication of the robots will allow them to be easily understood by elderly people without their presence becoming distracting, and will also facilitate the acceptance of the robots by both the nursing home residents and staff. The robot will able to adapt its behavior to the situation and the cognitive abilities of the residents.

One of the project’s challenges is to ensure that the solution can support and serve people with reduced communication and cognitive abilities. The prototype is being tested in the Norwegian market, where the installation of five robots per home in around 1,000 nursing homes could replace 10-20% of the expected demand for service staff by 2030.

Via MTI, Featured image: Pixabay