The elderly and the aged who live in the community, some of them may have been diagnosed with dementia, anxiety, and depression. The increased need for caregivers and companionship among the elderly is quite high. Robotic pets are being developed to combat loneliness for the elderly who choose to remain in their own homes. Elderly people need social interaction for them to remain mentally, emotionally, and physically active. Using robotic pets allows the elderly living alone in the community to have a sense of belonging and be able to interact. Moreso, with robotic pets, there is little to no need to care or feed them just like living pets such as dogs. Robotic pets are seen as a potential solution to the perceived needs of the aging population, as research has focused mainly on them for functional and emotional support for the elderly. While robotic pets offer some therapeutic benefits, their intended use for companionship often provokes ethical debate, including concern that interactions with robotic pets are demeaning or lack value compared to human interactions. Another ethical concern is the breach of privacy. This research also investigated the advantages and disadvantages of conversational robots/ robotic pets. It further
provides the survey carried out on the elderly to see how satisfied or dissatisfied they were with the robotic pets as a tool to combat loneliness. Also, the ethical issues, opportunities, and challenges that arise with new technologies such as robotic pets among the aging population.
Introduction:
Robotic pets are artificial intelligence systems designed with animal-like interactive qualities that can potentially mimic the therapeutic benefits of live pets (Pollak, C., Wexler, S.S. and Drury, L. 2022). These robotic real-like animals do not have much difference from real pets, as they provide both emotional and physical support and mental stimulation to those that choose to engage with them (Robinson et al, 2013).
The purpose of this research was to explore the effectuality of robotic pets in alleviating loneliness for older adults living alone. In other words, it examines the opportunities and challenges offered by robotic pets when aiming to decrease emotional and social loneliness in older people. Thereby examining the potential benefit of conversational robot use by the elderly living in the community. As the world has been introduced to robotic pets, which can do many things like feel, touch, sense, and many more just like traditional pets. Social companion robots might have the potential to reduce social isolation and increase well-being (Ghafurian, et al 2021).
However, there is a big difference between a robot and a live pet. Robotic pets, we all know are man-made objects, produced with wires, metal components, plastics, and computer hardware. Comparing this to lovely pets like dogs or cats that are organic living things has a huge difference. Real pets require tender loving care, ranging from the food they consume to everyday hygiene care. Those who cannot afford to feed a dog or a cat or at least provide a decent shelter for these animals do not have the right to have pets. On the other hand, robots do not need nutritious and delicious food to survive.
Although it’s not always possible to have a real cat or a dog come into a care home, Real pets may not be allowed to come into nursing homes or other healthcare settings due to some reasons like allergies, risk of injury to patients, staff, or visitors, and the cleaning up after the animals, proper hygiene and making sure the pet is fully vaccinated which could hinder the well-being promotion of the elderly (Bates, 2019). Robotic pets could offer a good alternative as they want older people to have healthier, feel more connected, and have more independent lives. Conversational robots have been proven to increase the quality of life among the elderly. The research was conducted in Auckland, New Zealand with 40 participants across hospitals and care homes. So many points were put into consideration namely: cognitive status, loneliness, depression, and quality of life. After the 12 weeks trial period among the participants, observation was conducted which showed that residents who interacted with the robotic pets had quite a significant decrease in loneliness during the trial period (Robinson et al, 2013).
Robotic pets have been said to be quite effective in the alleviation of loneliness among the elderly who live in the community as they have fewer social connections.
Another study that was recently conducted on the use of robotic pets among the elderly during the COVID-19 pandemic showed some results in the promotion of social connection during the social distancing restrictions, the elderly who engaged with the robotic pets reported reduced loneliness (Guerra, et al, 2022).
Giving the facts that robotic pets have so many benefits for the elderly living in the community for example robots can assist seniors in their daily life tasks, monitor their health, or provide them companionship (Noori et al, 2019). The author believes robotic pets should be encouraged and introduced to alleviate loneliness. Up to 90% of adults aged 65 and older have reported that they prefer to remain living independently at home later in life while maintaining a consistent routine in a familiar environment (Peek et al, 2014). These conversational robots are introduced to increase the quantity and quality of social interactions in assisted living homes and communities for elderlies who have decided to remain in their own homes at a later stage of their lives. People with dementia who live in their own homes may also find it hard to care for pets, as they might forget things like food, water, and cleaning their pet’s mess, or they don’t have mobility or be able to get a sick animal to a veterinary clinic. (Bates, 2019).
Robotic pets are key to helping people with dementia, by relaxing them and triggering memories from years gone by. The electronic sensors on the pet’s body reward owners with a purr, bark, or other sounds making for a realistic pet (Western Morning News, 2021).
The elderly in the community who battle loneliness and isolation could have these conversational robots to help relieve them of stress, depression, and feeling of anxiety. Social robots have demonstrated benefits when used by older adults. According to Sharkey (2012), Social robots have been shown to reduce social isolation and increase conversational opportunities with the elderly and other humans which can help keep them active. There are however some ethical concerns about the use of companion robots, just as there are also some benefits associated with them. (Sharkey, 2012). Research has shown that older adults both those living with dementia and those living without dementia like the pet’s sensory nature, in other words, the fact that it responds to touch is the key that the robotic pet is working (Western Morning News, 2021). These findings however have proven to make a compelling case that robotic pets are the ideal solution for the elderly who directly or indirectly experience subjective loneliness.
The table below is a flowchart participant of old adults who took part in a survey about robotic pets. The participants who took part were males, and females, ages ranging from 65-93 years, from all ethnic backgrounds put together, some are single, married, or widowed. From the table below, over 60% either enjoyed talking to their robotic pet or doing things with them, found the pet enjoyable and fascinating, while just 4.9% found it boring. (Wexler, et al, 2022)
According to Hudson, et al 2020, loneliness in older adults who live alone without any form of social interaction has been said to cost the US Government more money to ensure that they don’t feel isolated. Social isolation contributes to an additional $6.7 billion in Medicare spending annually, which is attributed to additional skilled nursing facility spending and increased inpatient spending. Hudson, 2020 et al, emphasized that robotic pets may be an effective solution for the alleviation of loneliness in older adults who live alone and have fewer social interactions with less active lifestyles. Loneliness is a significant risk factor for poor health status and increased mortality.
Older adults may be especially at risk for social isolation because they are more likely to have experiences like the loss of friends and loved ones, or the onset of health problems (Flowers et al, 2017).
Flowers et al (2017) stated that $81 is attributed per beneficiary per month for socially isolated individuals admitted to the hospital.
Scientists have been looking at ways to use robotic technology in helping the elderly in the community. A few robots that are Physically Assistive Robots (PARO) were put under physical tests like body lifting. Also, social robots called Socially Assistive Robots (SARs) were specifically invented for the social and psychological support of the elderly. (Hung et al, 2019).
PARO was designed for therapeutic purposes. It can react to sounds, move its tail, and open and close its eyes. It was noticed that the stress level of the elderly got reduced (Noori et al, 2019)
Advantages of Robotic Pets
The health benefits of a robotic pet are similar to those obtained from animal-assisted therapy. Bates (2019) mentioned that Research with PARO or other robotic pets in nursing homes found that they can help to alleviate stress and increase immune system response. Moreso, Companion robots are also said to increase positive moods and decrease loneliness in some people (Bates, 2019).
The author is supportive that Robotic pets have been found to improve social engagement amongst the elderly. It’s been found to increase activity participation and promote more spontaneous communication.
Robots can assist the elderly in their daily routines, monitor their health and other activities, and prove complementary companionship. To balance the argument and analyze the Robotic pet in a critical way one needs to investigate some of the disadvantages in other to proffer a solution.
A robotic pet won’t need to be trained: A robotic pet doesn’t need training unlike that a live pet. While training can be one of the many ways to bond with a live pet, not everyone has the time and capacity to do it.
Disadvantages of Robotic Pets
One of the concerns in the use of robotic pets among the elderly is that introducing these robots to the elderly could increase the less social contact thereby causing more isolation. In other words, they might become strongly emotionally attached and have false expectations of robots (Bates, 2019).
Moreso, elderly persons who are not used to technology, will tend to find it difficult to accept and interact with these robotic pets
Infection concern is another issue with robotic pets, studies have highlighted that it can be quite difficult to keep robotic pets’ fur clean and the fur covering is not designed to be regularly removed or machine washed (Hung, et al, 2019).
Ethical Concerns of Robotic/Conversational Pets.
The stigma: An elderly person using robotic pets creates the risk of feeling infantilized or dehumanized, as they might feel as though they are being treated like kids, and robots seen as a toy (Hung, et al, 2019 )
Breach of privacy: An elderly might not be happy to have a robot moving around in the apartment operated that is monitored from a different place (F. M. Noori, Z. Uddin, and J. Torresen, 2019)
Society might neglect older people and they will have less human social interaction. Also, there is a concern for deception (F. M. Noori, Z. Uddin, and J. Torresen, 2019).
Conclusion
Loneliness and isolation are quite common among the elderly, this impacts greatly their quality of life and overall health.
Robotic pets have been invented to offer potential support by being a companion to reduce isolation and loneliness among the elderly in the community. Although more awareness needs to be created in introducing robotic pets among older adults to create and enhance social support, reducing loneliness. The use of robotic pets seems to be less stressful as it has little to no maintenance. Robotic pets can be used among the elderly to activate their emotions and to give them social experiences, simultaneously through activating memories of the past and enjoying the present.
Robotic pets may be a good solution for alleviating loneliness in older adults, especially among those who live alone, have fewer social connections, and live fewer active lifestyles.
References:
Bates, M. (2019) Robotic pets: A senior’s best friend? IEEE pulse, 10(4), (pp.17-20) DOI: 10.1109/MPULS.2019.2922565. [Accessed 16/12/2022].
Ghafurian, M., Ellard, C., Dautenhahn, K. (2021). Social Companion Robots to Reduce Isolation: A Perception Change Due to COVID-19. In IFIP Conference on Human-Computer Interaction. Computer Science vol 12933 (pp. 43-63). Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-85616-8_4 [accessed 17/01/2023].
Guerra, S., Rosa, C., Sousa, L., Neves, A., Pestana, G., Hernández, M.J., Losada, R., Pires, S. and Ribeiro, O., (2022). The Use of Robotic Pets by Community-Dwelling Older Adults: A Scoping Review. International Journal of Social Robotics 14, (pp. 1481–1492). https://doi-org.mmu.idm.oclc.org/10.1007/s12369-022-00892-z [accessed 31/12/2023].
Hudson, J., Ungar, R., Albright, L., Tkatch, R., Schaeffer, J. and Wicker, E.R., (2020). Robotic pet use among community-dwelling older adults. The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, 75(9), (pp.2018-2028) https://doi-org.mmu.idm.oclc.org/10.1093/geronb/gbaa119 [accessed 10/12/2022].
Hung, L., Liu, C., Woldum, E., Au-Yeung, A., Berndt, A., Wallsworth, C., Horne, N., Gregorio, M., Mann, J. and Chaudhury, H., (2019). The benefits of and barriers to using a social robot PARO in care settings: a scoping review. BMC geriatrics, 19(1), (pp. 232). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12877-019-1244-6 [Accessed 27/12/2022].
Noori, F.M., Uddin, Z., and Torresen, J. (2019) Robot-Care for the Older People: Ethically Justified or Not? Joint IEEE 9th International Conference on Development and Learning and Epigenetic Robotics (ICDL-EpiRob), pp. 43-47, DOI: 10.1109/DEVLRN.2019.8850706. [accessed 30/12/2022].
Peek, S. T., Wouters, E. J., van Hoof, J., Luijkx, K. G., Boeije, H. R., & Vrijhoef, H. J. (2014). Factors influencing acceptance of technology for aging in place: A systematic review. International Journal of Medical Informatics, 83 (4), pp 235–248. doi: 10.1016/j.ijmedinf.2014.01. 004 [accessed 03/01/2023].
Pollak, C., Wexler, S.S. and Drury, L. (2022) Effect of a Robotic Pet on Social and Physical Frailty in Community-Dwelling Older Adults: A Randomized Controlled Trial, Research in Gerontological Nursing, 15(5), 229+, available: https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A718246559/AONE?u=mmucal5&sid=bookmark-AONE&xid=b34a6249 [accessed 19 Dec 2022].
Robinson, H., MacDonald, B., Kerse, N., Broadbent, E. (2013) The Psychosocial Effects of a Companion Robot: A Randomized Controlled Trial, Journal of the American Medical Directors Association, Volume 14, Issue 9, (pp 661-667). [accessed 30/12/2022].
Sharkey, A., Sharkey, N. Granny, and the robots: ethical issues in robot care for the elderly. (2012) Ethics and Information Technology 14, (pp.27–40) https://doi.org/10.1007/s10676-010-9234-6 [accessed 24 Nov 2022].
Western Morning News (2021) Robotic pets can help the elderly [Cornwall, England], 26 Apr, 8, available: https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A659658204/STND?u=mmucal5&sid=oclc&xid=82ee3f3b [accessed 19 DEC 2022].
