6284 Emotion-intelligent Robot System for people with impaired cognition

As Europe's (and the worlds) population ages, more people are experiencing age-related conditions like dementia, which pose significant challenges to their quality of life. This issue is compounded by declining cognitive functions and a shortage of healthcare workers, increasing the risk of loneliness, depression, and anxiety among people in long-term care facilities. While robotic systems have been developed to assist patients with daily routines and relieve healthcare professionals of some of their burdens, these robots often lack the ability to respond to the emotional needs of patients. This project aims to develop an emotional intelligent robotic system capable of understanding and adapting its actions to each patient's personal preference, mood (drowsiness and aggression), and cognitive abilities. For patients with reduced cognitive functions, understanding their needs can be challenging, but the system will use use state-of-the-art sensing technology and AI to overcome this hurdle. The emotion-intelligent robot system will integrate cutting-edge innovations from Mentech Innovation (in intelligent systems), Vitalthings (in sensing technologies), and SARA Robotics (in robot systems). The University of Bergen will provide extensive expertise in elderly care to ensure that the project is conducted ethically and meets the highest standard of patient care.

Develop an Emotion-Intelligent Robot System to enhance the well-being of persons with dementia or other intellectual disabilities residing in long-term care institutions. The system will autonomously assess and respond to residents' emotional states (aggression and drowsiness), supporting caregivers and improving residents' well-being. The primary goal is to create an intelligent robotic solution that integrates advanced sensing technology, artificial intelligence, and personalized interventions. The system will monitor the residents' physiological states in real-time using non-intrusive sensors, and then accurately interpreting this data to estimate the emotional states of agitation and drowsiness. The robot will deliver tailored interventions to address individual needs, thereby enhancing residents' emotional well-being and reducing the workload on caregivers. The EI ROBOT project is a collaborative effort involving leading research institutions and companies from Norway and the Netherlands. The consortium includes VitalThings, the University of Bergen, Mentech Innovation, and SARA Robotics, each bringing unique expertise in elderly care, ethics, AI, sensor technology, and robotics.