Jun
Robot Cognitions: Enhancing Quality of Life
Navigation of different environments, like different people or social situations, require specific ways of interacting to achieve goals. An intelligent system that can enable a better quality of life for people marginalized in society (such as the elderly, the disabled and those of minority groups) enhances a community’s adhesiveness, creating a potential for change and growth.
Students of psychology can benefit from building and working with robots by applying theories and models from cognition, neurocognition, perception and statistics. Psychologists are also in the best position to inform designers and policy makers of the biopsychosocial and environmental interaction needs and expectations of users across the developmental stages. Interestingly, there is a strong link between spatial cognition and language.
In 2000, Nehmzow and Owen observed navigation of robots in large environments, to simulate real-world contexts. Autonomous mobile robots would be of great aid to people in general, as well as specifically for those who are constrained by physical, mental, emotional or socio-cultural factors.
For example, an elderly man in mid-stages of Alzheimer’s would be able to organize his day, catch a bus for shopping and bill payments, navigate a busy shopping centre, return home and prepare a meal, and to lock up before heading to bed. The robot would act as an external memory system, not only as a calendar and notebook organizational database but also as a GIS assistant to guide a person to a required destination, and back again if necessary.
Robots are able to learn how to navigate new environments, both indoor and outdoor. Drawing on research about echolocation in bats has helped design bots that can easily navigate in the dark. This provides numerous potential safety resources for a person, particularly the elderly who may be likely to ‘wander’.
Personal service robots could fill the existing and rapidly growing gap of health workers needed to care for the aged. Living conditions to enable independent living for an older person are paramount, and a live-in bot could complement the social interaction and support services of visiting family, community carers and healh service workers. This is an important social challenge as it poses a moral dilemma as well as economic concern; how to care for those within our community to ensure their quality of life and respect for their dignity and autonomy.
Literature shows that a great number of people (in the west at least) over the age of 70 years are likely to have difficulties performing at least one Daily Living Activity, such as; bathing, dressing, using the toilet, and getting in and out of bed or chairs.
Flo (Florence Nightingale) is a ‘Nursebot’. She provides her user with an external memory stem - to remember when to take medicines, which clothing to ensemble, what days to go shopping, where and when to catch a bus and other important dates, times and sequences. Flo is also able to collect statistical data that contributes to better service delivery to the person, and more accurate in-the-moment data collection for health service research and knowledge application. Additional tele-presence can key the elderly user to real-time video-audio monitoring by health and social care providers, as well as to family and friends.
The group, Cognitive Robotics, at the Bremen Institute of Safe Systems at the University of Bremen have designed an intelligent wheelchair to help the elderly and the disabled to navigate their environments. Research on insects such as ants is also contributing to better autonomous service bots.
Intelligent service robots can be of use in hospitals and homes for personal care, as well as in buildings such as museums, libraries and shopping centres to enable autonomy in navigation and access to services by those using the bots. A woman from a non-English speaking background with cultural constraints on whom she may interact with outside of the home, could use the robot as an intermediatary as she navigates her adopted community and fulfils her personal and social responsibilities.
However, it also draws up many ethical questions about privacy, confidentiality and autonomy.
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