Ubiquitous robotics to support older adults with dementia

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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.The goal of this collaboration and project is to extend the capabilities of CrossWing's robotic platform, and to expand on the current research programs of the academic team to deliver the following capabilities on a new market-ready robot: 1) tele-medicine/presence; 2) activity monitoring and prompting; 3) safety monitoring and emergency response; and 4) user customization. Currently, it is very challenging to include this diverse functionality on a single robotic platform due to the increased computational demands, the inherent complexity, and perhaps most importantly, the prohibitive cost of the resulting system. CrossWing will work with its academic partners at the University of Toronto and the University of Sherbrooke to overcome these limitations through the novel approach of using the SHARCNET's Cloud Analytics Platform to add the required functionality to CrossWing's current robotic platform-- virtualME. Namely, the robot's onboard computing capabilities will be augmented by the cloud, thus developing one of the first multi-function robotic solutions for the support of older adults with dementia that will be affordable and that includes the functions needed to truly support this demographic.