The use of robots in healthcare has increased, but a large-scale embrace remains out for now. Care robots are failing to deliver on the promise of providing a solution to the shortage of care staff. This is because technology is not yet advanced enough for robots to meet expectations, the knowledge of care staff about the capabilities of robots is still too limited and time constraints prevent training care staff in handling care robots.
This is the conclusion of Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) and consultancy firm M&I Partners in a new research report. The research is a follow-up to an earlier study on healthcare robotics conducted by TU/e and M&I Partners in 2015. For the study, the researchers spoke to several healthcare organisations about their experiences, developments around healthcare solutions and their views on the future. The results of these interviews are compiled in the report 'Research on robotics 2017'.
New robots introduced
The study identifies several trends over the past two years, both on the supply and application sides. For instance, on the supply side, new robots have emerged for social and emotional communication, based on simple hardware. An example is Tessa, a small robot from the company TinyRobots aimed at people with dementia. The robot reminds users of appointments and thus increases their autonomy. In addition, Tessa can suggest making a cup of tea or turning on music. In doing so, the robot encourages users to take initiative.
Another example is Active Cues' magic table. This is not a real robot in practice, but a technology that researchers say looks a lot like robot technology. The magic table is a box that is suspended from the platform in a room and contains a projector, infrared signals, speaker and processor. The box allows games to be projected onto any table. These projections respond to hand and arm movements, allowing care clients to interact with the projections. The magic table is available in three variants: a version for people with dementia, one for the mentally disabled and a magic table for autistic clients.
The researchers conclude that these products are catching on well in healthcare. This is due to the simplicity with which the technologies can be deployed combined with the great need for such technology within elderly care.
Social robots continue to be developed
Another trend identified in the report is the further development of existing robots for social or emotional communication, such as the Zora from supplier Consyst and PARO from supplier Focal Meditech. The Zora is a humanoid robot mainly used to entertain clients by playing games, telling stories, playing music or performing exercises for them. The Zora is based on Aldebaran Robotics' NAO robot and features software developed by QBMT. The PARO is a robotic seal aimed at people with dementia. The PARO is equipped with sensors and motors that give the robot the ability to respond to both speech and touch. With these responses, the PARO provides dementia sufferers with stimuli and invites them to interact with the robot, for example by hugging the robot. PARO was developed by Japanese company AIST.
Such robots are constantly being further developed, increasing their potential. These developments often focus on increasing the robots' ease of use. For example, PARO has been fitted with a coat that can be kept clean better, while for ZORA a platform has become available that allows users to exchange scenarios. However, the researchers also note that such social robots have limitations. For instance, they come with a pre-programmed repertoire, meaning they can only give pre-programmed responses to users. This limits the interaction possible with the robots. The researchers do note, however, that the robots' repertoire is becoming increasingly extensive.
Also developments in other categories
Care robots are also being further developed in other categories. Examples cited include driving service robots Rose from Heemskerk Innovative Technology and Othello from Focal Meditech, both of which are used for 'general daily living tasks'. These include fetching a glass of water or setting a table. Finally, the researchers point to Obi from Focal Meditech. Obi consists of a plate with a robotic arm and spoon, which helps physically impaired people eat.
The researchers conclude that the Internet of Things (IoT) is hardly used in healthcare robots yet. Healthcare institutions are also not yet linking the systems to client records, and the researchers did not come across care robots linked to sensors. The researchers expect to see more of these combinations of technologies in the coming years.
Effective in elderly care
The number of robots deployed in healthcare in the Netherlands has increased in the past two years, but there has been no spectacular rise. To illustrate, 230 PAROs and around 100 Zoras have now been sold to Dutch healthcare organisations. Particularly in elderly care, the use of care robots is proving to be very effective, especially when caring for people with dementia. For instance, care organisations have shown good results with the use of care robots to combat apathy, convey instructions effectively, encourage contact with other clients and motivate clients to be more active.
The researchers note that while healthcare personnel are becoming increasingly aware of the existence of healthcare robots, knowledge about them is generally lacking. This is a major barrier to the deployment of robots. Thus, care providers are not always aware of situations in which they could successfully deploy care robots. This is partly because the subject is still little covered in training courses. Also, within many care organisations, one person is responsible for the deployment of care robots, which means that only this person undergoes practical training. As a result, other staff have no knowledge of the technology and the success of deploying care robotics depends on one person. The researchers conclude that this can delay the implementation of a technology.
Expectations too high
In addition, caregivers are quick to have too high expectations of a robot. "For example, when caregivers see that the robot has an arm, they expect it to be able to do all sorts of things with it, when in reality its capabilities are still limited. Healthcare providers' expectations and objections are often adjusted when they are introduced to applications of healthcare robotics," the researchers write in their report.
Despite the disappointing performance of healthcare robots, researchers also see developments that could accelerate the embrace, such as the emergence of simple robotics applications. These solutions are cheap, can be easily deployed and respond to a major need, especially for older people living at home for longer. Due to their relatively low cost, these simple robotics applications offer care organisations a low-threshold way to get acquainted with care robots. According to TU/e and M&I Partners, this could lead to wider deployment of care robotics in the future.
The full research report can be requested from M&I Partners.
Author: Wouter Hoeffnagel
Source: 'Research robotics 2017' report by TU/e and M&I Partners
Source photo: Pixabay / kuloser
