Empowering the Smart Elderly Home Platform with Mini Humanoid Robots
迷你人形機器人賦能智慧養老平台
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Proposed by: |
Dr Peter NG (Assistant Professor, COMP) PI Dr Shirley NGAI (Associate Professor, RS) Dr Jacky CHUNG (Senior Engineering Manager, IC) |
Project Background
The prevailing smart home solutions for older people predominantly utilise standalone speakers and voice assistants, primarily engaging users through auditory interactions. This approach, while functional, lacks comprehensive sensory engagement and does not fully address the psychological and emotional needs of elderly users. To significantly enhance the quality of life and autonomy of elderly individuals living independently, this proposal advocates for integrating mini humanoid robots with smart elderly home platforms. This integration aims to develop a sophisticated, user-centric ecosystem that synergises robotics and smart home technologies to address the holistic needs of the ageing population.
Problem Identification
Existing Smart Elderly Home Platforms typically incorporate home automation, health monitoring, user-friendly interfaces, and data analytics features. While these features automate and monitor daily tasks efficiently, they fall short of addressing the full spectrum of seniors' practical and emotional needs, thus limiting their effectiveness in promoting overall well-being.
Challenges of Solving the Existing Problem
The challenges of developing an integrated system has more effectiveness in promoting overall well-being focusing on technical integration, human-robot interaction design, and AI-driven content personalization. Tailored developmental efforts are essential to ensure seamless robot functionality. Human-robot interactions should be intuitive and accommodating to older users' capabilities, utilizing AI to recognize and respond to emotional cues and gestures. Advanced generative AI is crucial for creating emotionally resonant and supportive content, promoting users' psychological well-being.
Project Objective
The primary aim of this project is to develop an integrated system that enhances the interaction capabilities of mini humanoid robots within smart elderly home platforms, thereby supporting the mental health and emotional well-being of older adults. Specific objectives include:
O1. Elevate Smart Home Interactions through Humanoid Integration
O2. Utilise Generative AI for Personalized Content Creation and Delivery
Benefits and Impacts of Solving the Problem
Integrating mini humanoid robots with a smart elderly home platform promises significant advancements in eldercare technology, improving users' functional and emotional support.
A comparison between the original and enhanced features of the Smart Home Platform is listed below:
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Engagement |
Smart Home Platform |
Benefits to Users |
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Original Features |
Enhanced Features with Mini Humanoid Robots |
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Interaction Type |
Audio-only interactions |
Multi-modal interactions, including audio, visual gestures, and physical movement |
Enhances sensory engagement, leading to a more immersive and interactive experience. |
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Communication Methods |
Limited to voice responses |
Voice, facial expressions, gestures, and dance movements |
Provides richer, more expressive communication options, improving comprehension and emotional connection. |
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Proactivity |
Reactive (responds to commands) |
Proactive engagement: can initiate greetings, reminders, and check-ins |
Increases user convenience through anticipatory actions and regular interaction. |
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Emotional Engagement |
Minimal; lacks emotional intelligence. |
Recognises emotions through voice and movement; can respond in emotionally supportive ways |
Boosts emotional support and well-being by offering responses that align with the user's emotional state. |
|
Mobility |
Stationary |
Mobile: can navigate small spaces, perform dances, and participate in physical activities |
Enhances interaction by enabling the robot to approach and interact with users in various locations within the home. |
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Social Interaction |
Basic conversation |
Dynamic and engaging; can participate in games, storytelling, and educational activities. |
Promotes social well-being and cognitive engagement through varied, interactive social activities. |
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User Experience |
Functional but impersonal |
Engaging, interactive, and capable of forming a bond through consistent interaction |
This leads to a more personalised and enjoyable user experience, fostering a sense of companionship. |
Impacts
- Short-term: Demonstrate a use case where humanoid robots are integrated within a smart home platform, showcasing their ability to interact with and control various home systems such as lighting, temperature, and security, thereby enhancing the living environment for older people.
- Mid-term: Integrating humanoid robots will enable further studies on elderly care and provide a platform for PolyU researchers to analyse and understand the impact of human-robot interaction in real-world settings.
- Long-term: Enhance emotional engagement and mental health monitoring through continuous interaction and personalised care, improving responses in elderly care. This integration aims to set a new standard for elderly care technology, potentially reducing long-term healthcare costs and improving the quality of life for seniors
References
- Care of the Elderly
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10846-013-0019-0| Published: 26 February 2014 - Integrating a Humanoid Robot into ECHONET-Based Smart Home Environments
https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-70022-9_3 | First Online: 24 October 2017 - Robots in Elderly Care
https://digitcult.lim.di.unimi.it/index.php/dc/article/view/54 | Published: 2018-03-06 - Artificial Humanoid for the Elderly People
https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-08939-3_7 | First Online: 30 October 2014 - RiSH: A robot-integrated smart home for elderly care
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0921889017300477 | March 2018 - Open Source Home Assistant Platform|
Home Assistant (home-assistant.io) - Portable Intelligent Humanoid Robot
https://www.ubtrobot.com/consumer/humanoidRobots/alphaSeries/AlphaMini
