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TrainBo: An Interactive Robot-assisted Scenario Training System for Older Adults with Dementia

Kwong Chiu Fung, Wai Ho Mow

TL;DR

TrainBo addresses the need for engaging, cognitively supportive training for older adults with dementia by integrating self‑determination theory with a social robot in daily‑life scenario training. The authors derive design requirements from formative studies and implement a Kebbi Air‑based robot with SDT‑driven autonomy, competence, and relatedness supports, paired with ASR/STT/TTS and Cantonese translation. A four‑week formal study with seven participants evaluates engagement, intrinsic motivation, and usability, revealing modest improvements in engagement but acceptable usability (mean SUS $=65.36$) and positive qualitative feedback. The work offers design guidance for robot‑assisted cognitive training in dementia care and points to future enhancements in longitudinal effectiveness, adaptive content, and real‑time personalization with broader deployment potential.

Abstract

Dementia is an overall decline in memory and cognitive skills severe enough to reduce an elders ability to perform everyday activities. There is an increasing need for accessible technologies for cognitive training to slow down the cognitive decline. With the ability to provide instant feedback and assistance, social robotic systems have been proven effective in enhancing learning abilities across various age groups. This study focuses on the design of an interactive robot-assisted scenario training system TrainBo with self-determination theory, derives design requirements through formative and formal studies and the system usability is also be evaluated. A pilot test is conducted on seven older adults with dementia in an elderly care center in Hong Kong for four weeks. Our finding shows that older adults with dementia have an improvement in behavioural engagement, emotional engagement, and intrinsic motivation after using Trainbo. These findings can provide valuable insights into the development of more captivating interactive robots for extensive training purposes.

TrainBo: An Interactive Robot-assisted Scenario Training System for Older Adults with Dementia

TL;DR

TrainBo addresses the need for engaging, cognitively supportive training for older adults with dementia by integrating self‑determination theory with a social robot in daily‑life scenario training. The authors derive design requirements from formative studies and implement a Kebbi Air‑based robot with SDT‑driven autonomy, competence, and relatedness supports, paired with ASR/STT/TTS and Cantonese translation. A four‑week formal study with seven participants evaluates engagement, intrinsic motivation, and usability, revealing modest improvements in engagement but acceptable usability (mean SUS ) and positive qualitative feedback. The work offers design guidance for robot‑assisted cognitive training in dementia care and points to future enhancements in longitudinal effectiveness, adaptive content, and real‑time personalization with broader deployment potential.

Abstract

Dementia is an overall decline in memory and cognitive skills severe enough to reduce an elders ability to perform everyday activities. There is an increasing need for accessible technologies for cognitive training to slow down the cognitive decline. With the ability to provide instant feedback and assistance, social robotic systems have been proven effective in enhancing learning abilities across various age groups. This study focuses on the design of an interactive robot-assisted scenario training system TrainBo with self-determination theory, derives design requirements through formative and formal studies and the system usability is also be evaluated. A pilot test is conducted on seven older adults with dementia in an elderly care center in Hong Kong for four weeks. Our finding shows that older adults with dementia have an improvement in behavioural engagement, emotional engagement, and intrinsic motivation after using Trainbo. These findings can provide valuable insights into the development of more captivating interactive robots for extensive training purposes.
Paper Structure (40 sections, 10 figures, 1 table)

This paper contains 40 sections, 10 figures, 1 table.

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. Related Work
  3. Assistive Tools for Older Adults with Dementia
  4. Social Robots for Older Adults with Dementia
  5. Robot-assisted Cognitive Training
  6. Formative Study
  7. Participants
  8. Regulations
  9. Survey and Interview
  10. Survey
  11. Survey Results
  12. Interview
  13. Interview Results
  14. System Design
  15. System Hardware
  16. ...and 25 more sections

Figures (10)

  • Figure 1: research flow and user study flow.
  • Figure 2: TrainBo has seven motors to control seven parts of its body, including a neck (N), two shoulders (S), two elbows (E) and two fists (F).
  • Figure 3: Top: TrainBo is singing a song; Bottom: TrainBo is dancing
  • Figure 4: Displayed animations when older adults with dementia (1) answer correctly, (2) answer incorrectly, and (3) have no response to the robot.
  • Figure 5: The question samples: (a) teaching, (b) learning, (c) questionning, and (d) repeating.
  • ...and 5 more figures