Development of robot-assisted recreation system based on assessment of operational issues in aged care facilities

Recreational activities are introduced in aged care facilities to improve the quality of life of the older adults, but are often difficult to implement because of the heavy burden on facility staff. In this study, issues related to recreational activities were identified from a survey of facility staff. In response to these issues, we proposed a scenario-type robotic assisted recreation (RAR) system that employed robots to alleviate the burden of the staff, as well as developed and improved a recreation management system. After conducting a demonstration test of this system at aged care facilities, we conducted a questionnaire survey of the facility staff. The results showed that this system was beneficial to the older adults, the robot was easy for staff to operate, and system improved communication with the older adults.