IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2017 - 64

Canada, in 2015 for a pilot project. The objective was to
evaluate how an intelligent social assistive robot such as
Tangy, would get along with residents and how residents
would respond to Tangy. The evaluation took place in a
cognitively stimulating environment while Tangy played
a game of Bingo with the residents [19].
In the pilot project, Tangy displayed humor, personalized the experience by using names of the players,
and helped the players with their cards if they made a
mistake [20].
The findings showed that residents had a good time
with Tangy, didn't feel threatened, and would play with it
again if asked. Tangy was able to "sense its environment and the users around it," while it also could interpret when a player was in some difficulty with their
bingo card, and moved in to offer help [19].
The University of Toronto engineering lab that created Tangy is also working on robots named "Brian" and
"Casper" that could potentially be used in individual
homes, a senior's facility, or a hospital [21]. These
robots can interpret facial expressions and have been
programmed to respond. They act as dinner companions to seniors who live independently or in a nursing
home. According to the design director Dr. Goldie Nejat,
director of the University of Toronto's Institute of Robotics and Mechatronics, a robot can even assist in meal
preparation or offer reminders to a client about when to
eat, and is intended to promote independent living [22].
Around the world there are numerous examples
emerging of socially assistive robots moving from the
design phase to actual implementation. Billions of dollars for research and development are now devoted to
finding ways to integrate robots into caregiving and
everyday lives [26].
Nowhere in the world is the issue of caregiving for
the elderly more challenging and critical than in China.
While it's common to see senior citizens engaged in
daily physical activity in China in public parks and green
spaces, the country is facing a monumental challenge of
caring for and overseeing the growing population of
lonely elderly citizens unhappy with their lives [7], [23].
Private care facilities are in short supply and prohibitively expensive for most Chinese where the growing aged
populations has been characterized as the "earth's largest and costliest public-health crises, a slow moving
calamity of human suffering that also portends economic and political danger" [23].
As China addresses the demands of a rapidly growing population of elderly citizens with social and healthcare needs, caretaker and companion robots are being
used for the first time at the social welfare center in the
prosperous eastern China city of Hangzhou. The Ah Tie
robot supports healthcare workers by reminding elderly
clients when to take their medication. The added bonus

of the Ah Tie is that it also provides companionship to
residents by singing and dancing with them. The dancing provides both interaction and physical activity to the
seniors who might otherwise not receive any personal
attention. The Ah Tie robot can also carry on a basic
conversation though it currently only responds to Mandarin [24]-[25].
The most ambitious collaboration of countries and
research surrounding robotic caregiving is the European based Robot-Era project. It has been conducting trials directly with residents and caregivers in prototype
homes and care facilities in Italy and Sweden. RobertEra is designed to develop robotic innovation in the field
of eldercare and draws upon multi-disciplined expertise
to promote innovation. Funded by the European Commission, it's one of several ambitious research initiatives started after the European Union invested billions
of dollars into research and development of technology
associated with elder care innovation through the 7th
Framework Programme for Research and Technological
Development [26].
The vision of how life can be with robots and
humans co-existing as we get older is portrayed in a
slickly produced video where a responsive robot attends
to almost every need to allow an elderly person to live
independently. The Robot-Era project video depicts a
socially assistive robot living with a senior citizen in
their own home. Through a touch screen interface, the
resident orders his breakfast for the robot to prepare,
then compiles a grocery list of items for the robot to
buy. The entire operation of the robot and exchange of
money for goods is done through online direction given
by the resident without words or money being
exchanged [27].
The Supporting Independent Living for the Elderly
through Robotics project, or SILVER, is robotic development initiative funded by the European Commission
under the Seventh Framework Programme for research
and technological development [28]. The intention is to
nurture new ideas and studies that could be commercially viable in the area of robotic elder care and independent living. One of its feature projects is the Lean
Empowering Assistant (LEA). Instead of looking like a
humanoid robot, the device looks like a walker, often
used by the elderly to assist with their mobility. The sturdy looking piece of equipment assists a person in standing up from a seated position, gives audible instructions,
and has an onscreen display system to offer reminders
or warnings about upcoming obstacles [29].
Perhaps to soften the fear of robots as mentioned by
seniors and to get people more accustomed to actually
seeing a robot at work, some robots are easing into
everyday life in a socially engaging way. While Tangy
appeared in a care facility to play bingo with residents,

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