Ubiquitous robotics to support older adults with dementia

痴呆症影响着全球3500多万人，专家预测这一数字几乎每20年翻一番。机器人技术被认为是一种支持老年痴呆症患者的可行技术，通过家庭，社区和机构渠道获得了巨大的市场。然而，我们还没有看到一个有效的机器人系统，为这一人口在市场上提供。这种缺乏市场吸收的原因被假设为两方面：1）现有系统不包括真正支持老年痴呆症患者所需的多种功能; 2）目前的平台过于昂贵，老年人及其家人无法在自己家中使用。这导致了一个不断增长的市场不需要解决。

Dementia affects more than 35 million people worldwide, and experts predict this number will almost double every 20 years. Robotics is viewed as a viable technology in the support of older adults with dementia, with a significant market available through home, community, and institutional channels. However, we have yet to see an effective robotics system for this demographic made available on the market. The reason for this lack of market uptake is hypothesized to be two-fold: 1) existing systems do not include the diverse functionality necessary to truly support older adults with dementia; and 2) current platforms are too expensive to use by older adults and their families in their own homes. This has resulted in a growing market need not being addressed.