A Pet Robot Prototype for Animal-Assisted Therapy
摘要
Social robots are gaining importance in helping society in healthcare and education. The use of pet robots in healthcare has emerged as a field of great interest to provide companionship and entertainment to vulnerable people, such as older adults. Numerous studies have recently demonstrated the positive effects of animal therapy in cognitive and physical rehabilitation, helping to alleviate the adverse effects of different disorders. However, animals have drawbacks, such as cleanliness or allergies, that may not be present when using robotic systems. This paper presents a pet social robot designed to provide companionship and entertainment to older adults living in dependency. We describe its hardware and software, emphasising how it behaves from a biologically inspired approach to appear natural and provide a supportive experience.