Development of a Robotic Agent for Increasing Elderlies Socialization

Social isolation is an increasingly felt problem in the elderly population and can significantly affect life quality. This paper describes the development process of a social robot that helps socialization among the elderly. The applied methodology is based on User-Centered Design and utilizes Fast Prototyping techniques aimed at enhancing the quality and effectiveness of the final product. The design process includes 5 main steps: desktop and literature research, user field research (observation and expert interviews), opportunity definition, and solution conceptualization, followed by a prototype development phase and a user tests phase. As a result, a companion robot called TIP (Therapy for Isolated People) was developed to help seniors participate in socializing activities by building a stable social network. The originality of this contribution is mainly related to the demonstration that a robot can be specifically designed to provide social support and, to do this, designers, engineers and computer scientists must work together and combine their expertise creating new synergies. This work can have a significant impact on those product designers who want to find innovative solutions for the needs of the elderly by exploiting the opportunities of social robotics and ICT resources, showing that fast prototyping approach can be applied with minimum effort to create interactive smart objects.