Towards Socially Assistive Robots for Elderly: An End-to-end Object Search Framework

The lack of technology integration in highly interdisciplinary fields such as robotics and ambient assisted living (AAL) is preventing the diffusion of automated solutions for elderly care at home. This claim holds for the task of object search with a socially assistive robot as well, where fragmented self-contained technologies are not related to a high-level framework. In this paper, we present an end-to-end, modular framework to fulfill the object search task with a mobile robot that takes into account the needs of older users. In particular, we describe the modules composing the task and their interconnections, with special attention to the interaction with the user. Finally, we indicate the existing works that can be used to implement the different functionalities to boost the deployment of this technology and improve the autonomy of senior citizens in their own homes.