Innovation. Perspectives for the 21St Century
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Life Innovation with Therapeutic Robot, Paro Takanori Shibata InTRoDUCTIon In medical applications, especially in the Intelligent Systems Research Institute, National Institute of Interaction with animals has long been United States, animal-assisted therapy and Advanced Industrial Science and known to be emotionally beneficial to people. activities (AAT&AAA) are becoming widely Technology. Japan In recent years, the effects of animals on used in hospitals and nursing homes (Delta humans have been researched and proved Society, 1996; Fine, 2006). AAT has clear scientifically. Friedmann investigated the goals set out in therapy programs designed one-year survival rate of patients who were by doctors, nurses and social workers, in discharged from a coronary-care unit and cooperation with volunteers, while AAA refers found that survival among those who kept to patients interacting with animals without pets was higher than among those who particular therapeutic goals, and depends on did not (Friedmann et al., 1980). Baun et volunteers. AAT and AAA are expected to have al. reported that patients’ blood pressure three effects: dropped when they petted their dogs (Baun et 1. a psychological effect (relaxation, al., 1984). Garrity et al. studied older people motivation); who were socially isolated and had lost their 2. a physiological effect (the improvement partner during the previous year, and found of vital signs); that the intensity of depression among those 3. a social effect (stimulation of who had no pets was higher than among communication among inpatients and those who did (Garrity et al., 1989). Lago et caregivers). al. researched through telephone interviews For example, a hospitalized child, who the influence on older people of owning pets. was in significant pain on account of his They found that mortality and attrition were illness, was afraid to get up and walk around. higher for former owners than for current However, when he was asked to take a owners (Lago et al., 1989). Hart et al. studied therapy dog for a walk, he immediately the social influence of animals on people, and agreed and walked off happily, as if all his found that those with dogs were approached pain had disappeared. Moreover, the dog in a friendly way by strangers more frequently acted as a medium for interaction between than those without dogs (Hart et al., 1987). him and the other children (Kale, 1992). In TaKanoRI SHIBaTa 351 another case, a boy who was born as a crack- Mental-health care for the elderly is an exposed baby was unable to speak or walk. important issue for caregivers at nursing However, through interaction with therapy homes (Daies and Knapp, 1981) as depressive dogs and birds, both his linguistic and motor disorders are common among old people who abilities improved (Delta Society, 1991). have experienced difficult situations such as For AIDS patients, it is important to the loss of their family, friends, social roles, reduce their stress as it greatly affects the and physical functions (WPA/PID). In addition, complications of immune deficiency. AAT those who suffer from mental diseases such helps them to relax and stay connected with as dementia, hallucinations, aggression and the world (Haladay, 1989). wandering cause psychiatric and behavioral In addition, AAT and AAA at nursing homes disturbances (ADI, 1999). Such disorders have help to rehabilitate older people, make them a negative impact on their quality of life and laugh, and bring happiness to patients who that of their caregivers. In order to improve have only a short time to live (Gammonley communication with older people, caregivers and Yates, 1991). AAT reduces loneliness conduct recreational activities, such as in residents of long-term care facilities singing songs, coloring, drawing pictures, (Banks and Banks, 2002). The presence of and origami. However, some people are too therapy animals has been particularly useful embarrassed to sing songs, and others lack in reducing agitated behavior, decreasing finger mobility when attempting to draw. In episodes of verbal aggression and anxiety, addition, communication is complicated on and increasing social interaction among account of a lack of common topics. institutionalized old people suffering from This paper introduces robot therapy dementia (Richeson, 2003; Fick, 1993; Fritz et for “life innovation”, and discusses its al., 1995). potential in care for the elderly. The next However, most hospitals and nursing section describes the new area of robotics: homes, especially in Japan, do not allow human-interactive robots for psychological animals, although they recognize the positive enrichment. We then explain the required effects of AAT and AAA. They are afraid of the functions for therapeutic robots and the seal negative impact of animals on human beings, robot, Paro. Finally, we describe examples of in the form of allergic reactions, infection, robot therapy for older people, and present bites, and scratches. our conclusions. Society in most advanced countries is aging. Among them, Japan has the most HUMan-InTERaCTIvE RoBoTS FoR PSYCHoLoGICaL old people: 23.1 percent of the population EnRICHMEnT (29.4 million out of 127 million) in 2010 are Industrial robots have been used widely more than 65 years old. Many old people stay in manufacturing industries since the healthy, but some of them need care at home early 1960s. Industrial robots typically or in institutions, depending on their levels of perform welding, assembling, painting, physical disabilities and cognitive disorders. packaging, and palletizing in automotive Among the cognitive disorders, dementia manufacturing and other industries. Such presents the most problems. About 2 million robots work very fast and accurately, people suffer from dementia in Japan In although initially they need to be taught by a 2010. human operator and their environment needs 352 to be especially designed to enable them to These robots offer more interaction accomplish their tasks. Most industrial robots with humans than industrial robots. They are considered a potential danger to humans, are evaluated not only in terms of objective and therefore are kept isolated from them. measures, such as speed and accuracy, Meanwhile, the rapid development in high but also in terms of subjective measures technology has produced robots not only for regarding interacting with humans, such as factories but also for our living environment, providing comfort and happiness. Robots such as homes, offices, and hospitals. For for entertainment are good examples of the example, wheelchair robots enable elderly importance of a subjective evaluation of their people to move easily outside (Matsumoto et value (fig. 1). al., 2006). Robotic suits, which can expand the There are four categories of human physical capability of humans, are expected interactive robots for psychological to reduce the workload of caregivers (see enrichment, in terms of their relationship HAL). A horseback-riding robot promotes with humans: 1. performance robots; 2. tele- a patient’s physical strength (see JOBA). operated performance robots; 3. operation, Human-interactive robots for psychological building, programming, and control robots; enrichment, in particular, are expected to and 4. interactive autonomous robots. be a new application of robotics and are attracting many researchers and companies 1. Performance robots: (Shibata, 2004). Human-interactive robots are Performance robots have a long designed for entertainment, communication history and they execute movements that (social activity), guidance, education, welfare, express meanings to humans, mostly for mental therapy, and other purposes. Various entertainment. Mechanical puppets that were types of robots, such as humanoid, animal, able to play an organ, draw pictures, and and robots with a unique appearance, have write letters were developed in Switzerland been developed. in the 18th century. Karakuri dolls were Figure 1. Objective and Subjective Measures for Evaluating Artifacts Medical Robot Welfare Robot Industrial Robot Aesthetic Objects Automatic Machine working with Human Entertainment Home Appliance Objective Evaluation: Subjective Evaluation: fast, accurate, cheap, etc. interesting, beautiful, comfortable, etc. TaKanoRI SHIBaTa 353 developed in Japan during the same era One) are popular examples, as are LEGO- to dance, perform magic tricks, and so on. Mindstorms and I-Blocks. Because building Recently, many performance robots have and programming robots can stimulate been used at exhibitions, museums, movies, children’s creativity, this activity combines and amusement parks such as Disneyland entertainment with education, and is often and Universal Studios. Recent humanoid referred to as “edutainment” (Druin and robots, such as Honda’s ASIMO and Sony’s Hendler, 2000; Lund, 2004). QRIO, can be included in this category (Hirai, 1998; Kuroki et al., 2002). Performance robots 4. Interactive autonomous robots: are able to amuse sizable audiences at any Interactive autonomous robots connect time. However, their movements are probably with humans in the physical world. They preprogrammed and mostly repetitive; use verbal and nonverbal communications, therefore, they are not usually very interactive depending on their functions. Contrary with humans. A high degree of complexity in to the interactions of robots in the other performance robots is required in order to categories, human-robot interactions keep humans amused. are mostly personal. For example, Sony’s dog