PRE2024 3 Group12: Difference between revisions
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=== Users - description (Targeted stakeholders) === | === Users - description (Targeted stakeholders) === | ||
Hospitals and caregiving facilities could purchase this technology to improve the well-being of hospitalised children or children who need to be supervised or contained for longer periods due to illnesses. This technology would be helpful to such institutions because it would boost the disposition of sick children, which, as shown in multiple studies, increases the strength of the body and helps fight against the sickness. Moreover, parents could feel more relieved knowing that their children feel less alone while they are not in the hospital with them. | |||
Moreover, parents could feel more relieved knowing that their children feel less alone while they are not in the hospital with them. | |||
The main users, the intended target of this technology, would be sick, young patients. Illness itself is a very stressful thing both on the mind and on the body. For children, this becomes even more stressful since they do not fully understand what is happening to them. Feelings of loneliness and lack of interaction with loved ones and other children can have lasting effects on the development of the child and their mental well-being. Therefore, a robot that can keep them company during stressful moments and distract them by playing with them, talking to them, and telling them bedtime stories would make the treatment plan for the child more bearable and less frightening. | The main users, the intended target of this technology, would be sick, young patients. Illness itself is a very stressful thing both on the mind and on the body. For children, this becomes even more stressful since they do not fully understand what is happening to them. Feelings of loneliness and lack of interaction with loved ones and other children can have lasting effects on the development of the child and their mental well-being. Therefore, a robot that can keep them company during stressful moments and distract them by playing with them, talking to them, and telling them bedtime stories would make the treatment plan for the child more bearable and less frightening. | ||
Revision as of 14:06, 16 February 2025
Emotional support robot for hospitalized children
Group members
| Name | Student number |
|---|---|
| Mara Ioana Burghelea | |
| Malina Corduneanu | 1816071 |
| Alexia Dragomirescu | 1793543 |
| Briana Anamaria Isaila | 1785923 |
| Marko Mrvelj | |
| Ana Sirbu |
Progress - Workload
Week 1
| Name | Task | No. of hours |
|---|---|---|
| Mara Ioana Burghelea | Users | |
| Malina Corduneanu | Research - psychology (AI/ robots and kids) | |
| Alexia Dragomirescu | State of the art | |
| Briana Anamaria Isaila | Functionality of the robot | |
| Marko Mrvelj | Research - hospital and robots | |
| Ana Sirbu | Problem statement |
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
Week 6
Week 7
Introduction
(Name of the robot) - is an emotional support robot made specifically with children that have a long-term hospital stay in mind.
Problem statement
Users - description (Targeted stakeholders)
Hospitals and caregiving facilities could purchase this technology to improve the well-being of hospitalised children or children who need to be supervised or contained for longer periods due to illnesses. This technology would be helpful to such institutions because it would boost the disposition of sick children, which, as shown in multiple studies, increases the strength of the body and helps fight against the sickness. Moreover, parents could feel more relieved knowing that their children feel less alone while they are not in the hospital with them.
The main users, the intended target of this technology, would be sick, young patients. Illness itself is a very stressful thing both on the mind and on the body. For children, this becomes even more stressful since they do not fully understand what is happening to them. Feelings of loneliness and lack of interaction with loved ones and other children can have lasting effects on the development of the child and their mental well-being. Therefore, a robot that can keep them company during stressful moments and distract them by playing with them, talking to them, and telling them bedtime stories would make the treatment plan for the child more bearable and less frightening.
State of the art
Children who spend a lot of time in hospital and medical facilities are prone to experience stress, anxiety and emotional distress. Emotional support robots are emerging as a potential solution to provide companionship and comfort. In this section, we are going to talk about the state of the art in emotional support robots for children.
Several robots have been developed already with the scope of providing emotional support, but it is important to note that most of the robots developed were not designed specifically for children in hospitals. Some mentionable examples are:
PARO: A robotic seal designed to provide comfort through tactile interactions and soothing behaviors for elderly patients with Alzheimer. This approach is simmilar to animal therapy, for example, but with robots. While it has been proven to reduce stress, it is not specifically targeted for children and it does not engage in interactive play or personalized companionship tailored for young users.
Pepper: is a semi-humanoid robots with the ability to read emotions. It is used as a receptionist at several offices in the UK and is able to identify visitors with the use of facial recognition, send alerts for meeting organisers and arrange for drinks to be made. While it has conversational capabilities and can recognize emotions, its primary function is not emotional support for children, and it lacks deep personalization and game-playing features as well as the caring aspect of emotional support needed for hospitalized children.
Huggable: is a robotic companion capable of active relational and touch-based interactions with a person, targeted for children in hospitals. However, it’s capabilities are still limited, and while it provides emotional support, its interactive play, personalization and tailoring to users is not as advanced as envisioned in an ideal emotional support robot.
Moxi: is a robotic assistant meant to help nurses and hospital staff with administrating medication and helping with repetitive tasks. While it enhances efficiency in hospital environments, Moxi does not engage in direct patient interactions for emotional support or entertainment, making it unsuitable for pediatric emotional care. Despite the advancements in the world of robotics and emotional support robots, some challenges still stand. Developing robots with the particular needs of children in hospitals and that can adapt to the personal needs of every child remains a key challenge. Another important aspect is maintaining the attention for longer periods of time which is a key aspect in the emotional support of kids who must spend a lot of time in the hospitals, this challenge implies constant updates in interaction style and content. To maximize effectiveness, emotional support robots should be seamlessly integrated into hospital care routines, working alongside medical staff and therapists. Lastly, ensuring data security and ethical use of AI in sensitive environments like hospitals is crucial. Regulations must be in place to protect children's privacy, particularly regarding data collection and emotional analysis.
In conclusion, these robots will become even more effective in providing meaningful emotional support. However, current solutions either lack the specific focus on children or do not incorporate essential features like interactive play and deep personalization. Future research and development should address these gaps to create more suitable and effective emotional support robots for pediatric patients.
https://provenrobotics.ai/pepper-the-emotional-robot/
https://www.paroseal.co.uk/
https://bmcgeriatr.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12877-019-1244-6
https://www.media.mit.edu/projects/huggable-a-social-robot-for-pediatric-care/overview/
https://www.diligentrobots.com/moxi