Development of Serious Games and Physical Activities Instructed by a Social Robot for Improving the Well-being of Elderly Individuals with Alzheimer's Disease and Dementia

拟议的直接第二期SBIR项目的目标是开发和研究 阿尔茨海默病和阿尔茨海默病老年人参加/进行的严肃游戏和体育活动- 相关痴呆症在与瑞安的互动中，我们成功地试行了社交辅助机器人(SAR)。瑞安是一个 智能会话式生活类社交机器人，旨在改善老年人的福祉和生活质量 成人AD/ADRD。瑞安使用最先进的人工智能技术实现面部自动化 表情识别、自然语言处理和人体跟踪 游戏和体育活动的个性化和适应性。根据阿尔茨海默氏症协会 据估计，美国有570万人患有阿尔茨海默病，随着人口老龄化，这一数字预计将上升至1380万。 AD/ADRD的常见症状包括认知能力下降、短期记忆丧失、情绪变化、 抑郁，沟通困难，对爱好或活动失去兴趣，以及重复的行为。美国人 据信，患有AD/ADRD每年给国家造成2360亿美元的损失，预计每年的成本为 到2050年超过1万亿美元。传统的疾病管理方法显示治疗效果有限。 AD/ADRD或减轻其症状。身体健康和身体状况良好的医护人员和护理人员 情感负担沉重的人正在寻找新的方法来照顾老年人，特别是那些遭受痛苦的人 来自AD/ADRD。人工智能、机器人和物联网(IoT)等创新技术 设备已经开始缓解对医疗保健新解决方案日益增长的需求。其中包括 在技术方面，瑞安等社交辅助机器人近年来受到了极大的关注。 虽然存在可以与玩物理认知游戏的用户交互的SAR研究原型 有了人工智能技术和个性化，据我们所知，没有这样的合作SAR 与痴呆症患者进行电子游戏的(原型或商业)今天已经存在。我们的 游戏设计将以“认知”、“记忆”、“空间关系”、“社会关系”和“运动技能”为目标 球员的能力。我们将进行一项试点研究，以衡量瑞安在精神和社会方面的有效性 轻度痴呆症使用者的情绪刺激。这项创新技术将产生显著的 节省资金，提高AD/ADRD患者及其家人的生活质量 照顾者。

The objective of the proposed direct Phase-II SBIR project is to develop and study and the effectiveness of Serious Games and physical Activities played/performed by elderly people with Alzheimer’s disease and AD- related Dementias in interaction with Ryan, our successfully piloted Socially Assistive Robot (SAR). Ryan is an intelligent conversational life-like social robot, designed to improve the well-being and quality of life of older adults with AD/ADRD. Ryan uses state-of-the-art Artificial Intelligence technology for automated facial expression recognition, natural language processing, and tracking of human body that are used in personalization and adaptation of the games and physical activities. According to the Alzheimer’s Association an estimated 5.7 million Americans have AD and is projected to rise to 13.8 million, as the population ages. Common symptoms of AD/ADRD include cognitive decline, short-term memory loss, changes in mood, depression, communication difficulties, lost interest in hobbies or activities, and repetitive behavior. Americans suffering from AD/ADRD are believed to cost the nation $236 billion annually with projected annual costs of over $1 trillion by 2050. Traditional methods for disease management have shown limited success treating AD/ADRD or mitigating its symptoms. Health care personnel and caregivers who are physically and emotionally taxed are seeking new ways to provide care for elderly individuals and particularly those suffering from AD/ADRD. Innovative technology such as Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, and Internet of Things (IoT) devices, have begun to alleviate the growing need for novel solutions to the healthcare. Among such technologies, socially assistive robots such as Ryan have received a great amount of attention in recent years. While SAR research prototypes exist that can interact with users playing physical cognitive games equipped with artificial intelligence technology and personalization, to our knowledge, no such cooperative SAR (prototype or commercial) for electronic gameplay with individuals suffering from dementia exists today. Our game designs will target “Cognition”, “Memory”, “Spatial Relation”, “Social Relationship”, and “Motor Skills” abilities of players. We will conduct a pilot study to measure Ryan’s effectiveness in mental and socio- emotional stimulation of users with mild dementia. This innovative technology stands to produce significant financial savings and improve the quality of life of individuals living with AD/ADRD, their families, and caregivers.