The pandemic exacerbated the isolation and loneliness of the elderly, reviving interest in pet robots, but manufacturers are trying to moderate the expectations of those looking for humanoids with increasingly interactive animated wheels and stuffed animals.
“The pandemic has been an accelerator for us, it’s almost our reason for being today!” points out Antoine Bataille, creator of Cutii, a mobile screen robot, presented for the second time at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, the big electronics and technology event that kicked off Monday in virtual format.
Cutii allows users to participate in remote activities (games, gymnastics classes, etc.) and talk to their loved ones by video conference, accessing by voice command.
It can be updated remotely and equipped with support or security features, alerting in case of any problems.
The firm deployed its robots in France in 2020 in some thirty nursing homes. The Cutii were intended for sale to individuals, but confinement changed plans.
“We manage the isolation in the collective,” says the head of the French start-up, which is looking for partners to conquer the US market. “We never would have imagined that.”
The company now better understands the needs of companions working in nursing homes. Cutii can distract them while they are tidy, for example, by making the task easier for staff.
Today’s robotics specialists are able to accomplish feats: Boston Dynamics ’articulated robots are causing a stir on YouTube with their rhythmic choreography, while Cornell University researchers are working on microscopic robots, capable of inspecting the human body inside, moving through tissues and blood vessels.
– Human warmth –
But pet robots have to overcome more psychological than technological obstacles.
“The more dependent people are or the more difficult they are, the more they appreciate it,” Bataille points out. “People with Alzheimer’s accept the robot very well. Those who are more alert like it less.”
This large-scale experience has led Cutii to evolve to better meet needs.
“Everything is possible,” explains the founder of Cutii. “But the key is to be able to communicate with your family, to do activities that bring them closer to other people.”
In times of masked and distant humans, robots are paradoxically seen as a way to make certain interactions warmer.
“It’s nicer than a tablet,” says Tim Enwall, director of Misty Robotics, a programmable robot that can alternatively be a receptionist, companion, or home assistant.
With the pandemic, “the demand from companies for reliable, contactless tools available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, increased,” he notes.
“But robots are not yet able to handle hundreds of different issues like humans”, Admit. “It can lead to frustration, for example, if the device responds ‘Sorry, I didn’t understand’ to a person with a hearing impairment.”
– Stuffed robot –
At CES 2020, Japanese companion robot Lovot moved the crowd with his big owl eyes, his teddy bear look and cute reactions when he is spoken to or caressed.
It only serves to give affection. Like Unemployment, a therapeutic robot in the form of seal breeding, also Japanese, used for more than fifteen years for the care of patients with neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s.
“When an older person suffers from senility, they may have difficulty communicating and can no longer care for an animal,” notes Barbara Klein, a professor at Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences. The comfort robot takes the place of a dog or cat “without obligations.”
Klein also stresses that it allows you to “take care of someone instead of being the one who gets the care all the time.”
But acceptance varies greatly from person to person. Ultra-realistic robots, such as purring stuffed cats, can be uncomfortable.
“Some senile patients may be very disappointed in overestimating the robot’s capabilities,” notes Stefanie Baisch, a psychology researcher at Siegen University (Germany) and a specialist in companion robots.
Some are afraid to look weird in the eyes of others while caring.
Therefore, it is the caregiver’s responsibility to ensure that the device continues to be first and foremost a “mediator that promotes human interactions,” the researcher concludes.