Determining Possible Risks of Introducing Socially Assistive Robots with Mobility Functions to Aged Care Facilities

If introduced into aged care facilities, socially assistive robots (SARs) with mobility functions will expand the applications of robotics through their ability to take on new tasks, specifically, actively approaching residents and patrolling. However, because the residents of aged care facilities in Japan are frail, and more than 90% of them have dementia, robots with mobility functions must be introduced carefully. The purpose of this study is to investigate the possible risks of introducing SARs with mobility functions into aged care facilities. Consequently, online semi-structured interviews were conducted with staff of nine elderly care facilities, and cases highlighting the characteristic behaviors of older people with dementia were collected and analyzed. Based on the results, we present the possible risks of introducing SARs with mobility functions into aged care facilities and proposed countermeasures.