Design of cognitive assistive robotic systems for the elderly and the physically challenged

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It is estimated that in the year 2050, there will be three times more people over the age 85 than there are today [UN, "World Population Prospects," The 2004 Revision]. In Canada, more than 25% of the population will be over the age 85 in 2050. A significant portion of this aging population is expected to need physical and cognitive assistance. This implies huge increase in health care costs, an obvious burden on government budgets and insurance providers. The proposed research initiative, termed as 'Cognitive Assistive Robotics' (CAR), involves the design of an assistive machine (specifically a robot in the context of this work) with human-like cognitive abilities (albeit with reduced scope and complexity) to assist with some varying levels of efficiency elderly and disabled individuals with their most basic needs (holding and retrieving objects, operating and handling devices, moving freely around obstacles, communicating with machines, to name a few). The long-term goal of this research initiative is to create a Cognitive Assistive Robotic Environment (CARE) that can help elderly people and people with special needs perform daily living tasks. CARE relies on the correct interleaving of the services provided by the various components of the environment such as cognitive assistive robots, wireless sensor networks and assistive housing technologies. The equipment requested will provide the necessary experimental facilities to investigate the different challenges of developing robotic assistants that can improve the availability and quality of care and technical assistance for the elderly people. Pioneering such research activities for designing next generation cognitive assistive robotics, will certainly put Canadian researchers at the forefront of robotic research and may ultimately lead to huge windfalls in terms of commercial solutions benefiting the Canadian economy and the health care sector.