Meet CARMEN, quick for Cognitively Assistive Robotic for Motivation and Neurorehabilitation-a small, tabletop robotic designed to assist folks with delicate cognitive impairment (MCI) be taught expertise to enhance reminiscence, consideration, and govt performing at residence.
Not like different robots on this house, CARMEN was developed by the analysis crew on the College of California San Diego in collaboration with clinicians, folks with MCI, and their care companions. To the very best of the researchers’ information, CARMEN can also be the one robotic that teaches compensatory cognitive methods to assist enhance reminiscence and govt perform.
“We wished to verify we had been offering significant and sensible innovations,” stated Laurel Riek, a professor of pc science and emergency medication at UC San Diego and the work’s senior creator.
MCI is an in-between stage between typical getting old and dementia. It impacts varied areas of cognitive functioning, together with reminiscence, consideration, and govt functioning. About 20% of people over 65 have the situation, with as much as 15% transitioning to dementia annually. Present pharmacological therapies haven’t been in a position to gradual or forestall this evolution, however behavioral therapies will help.
Researchers programmed CARMEN to ship a sequence of easy cognitive coaching workout routines. For instance, the robotic can educate individuals to create routine locations to depart vital objects, akin to keys; or be taught observe taking methods to recollect vital issues. CARMEN does this by way of interactive video games and actions.
The analysis crew designed CARMEN with a transparent set of standards in thoughts. It will be important that folks can use the robotic independently, with out clinician or researcher supervision. Because of this, CARMEN needed to be plug and play, with out many shifting components that require upkeep. The robotic additionally has to have the ability to perform with restricted entry to the web, as many individuals shouldn’t have entry to dependable connectivity. CARMEN wants to have the ability to perform over a protracted time period. The robotic additionally has to have the ability to talk clearly with customers; specific compassion and empathy for an individual’s scenario; and supply breaks after difficult duties to assist maintain engagement.
Researchers deployed CARMEN for per week within the properties of a number of folks with MCI, who then engaged in a number of duties with the robotic, akin to figuring out routine locations to depart home goods so they do not get misplaced, and inserting duties on a calendar so they will not be forgotten. Researchers additionally deployed the robotic within the properties of a number of clinicians with expertise working with folks with MCI. Each teams of individuals accomplished questionnaires and interviews earlier than and after the week-long deployments.
After the week with CARMEN, individuals with MCI reported attempting methods and behaviors that they beforehand had written off as unimaginable. All individuals reported that utilizing the robotic was straightforward. Two out of the three individuals discovered the actions straightforward to know, however one of many customers struggled. All stated they wished extra interplay with the robotic.
“We discovered that CARMEN gave individuals confidence to make use of cognitive methods of their on a regular basis life, and individuals noticed alternatives for CARMEN to exhibit larger ranges of autonomy or be used for different purposes,” the researchers write.
The analysis crew introduced their findings on the ACM/IEEE Human Robotic Interplay (HRI) convention in March 2024, the place they obtained a finest paper award nomination.
Subsequent steps
Subsequent steps embody deploying the robotic in a bigger variety of properties.
Researchers additionally plan to provide CARMEN the flexibility to have conversations with customers, with an emphasis on preserving privateness when these conversations occur. That is each an accessibility challenge (as some customers won’t have the fantastic motor expertise essential to work together with CARMEN’s contact display), in addition to as a result of most individuals count on to have the ability to have conversations with programs of their properties. On the similar time, researchers need to restrict how a lot info CARMEN can provide customers. “We need to be conscious that the consumer nonetheless must do the majority of the work, so the robotic can solely help and never give too many hints,” Riek stated.
Researchers are additionally exploring how CARMEN may help customers with different circumstances, akin to ADHD.
The UC San Diego crew constructed CARMEN primarily based on the FLEXI robotic from the College of Washington. However they made substantial modifications to its {hardware}, and wrote all its software program from scratch. Researchers used ROS for the robotic’s working system.
Many components of the venture can be found at https://github.com/UCSD-RHC-Lab/CARMEN
