Would you like to be friends with me?
If this question came from a person you met a while ago it might seem quite natural. But what if the question came from a robot? A robot that is designed to help people with dementia connect with their social circles and battle isolation and loneliness which worsen their condition. Would you be friends with it? Well if the robot’s mission is related with social connectedness it should sooner or later become acquainted with its user, know their friends and family, his /her interests and habits etc in order to be of any help. Isn’t this what friends also do after all when they first meet? They learn about each other. So, inevitably, if we want the robot to accomplish its mission we should present it to its users as a friend. A robot-friend who helps them stay connected with their real life friends.
Hi! Mario here – Mario Kompaï the robot. I was asked to write a brief post for this month’s blog and I chose loneliness – it was one of the free keywords that was selected to define what this project is about and how I am going to be used and – hopefully – useful.
I googled for the term – and here is what I found:
A new Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) film takes an innovative approach to what it might feel like to live with dementia. It features the voice of a woman who has the condition, and the viewer gets a view of life from her perspective. Some of the things she sees are familiar, but, at other times, she becomes confused. For instance, at one point, the woman forgets that she’s gone to bed. At other times, she becomes agitated. She also talks about how she’s coping with the condition. Viewers will experience a little of what it’s like to find yourself in a world that seems familiar and yet doesn’t always make sense; people with dementia may not be able to communicate their frustrations. The film’s incidents and memories are based on true experiences gathered from people living with dementia. These people kindly agreed to share their experiences. The film is valuable for anyone who supports people with dementia.
Please follow this link to watch this film by SCIE and find out more about people living with dementia.
Diego Reforgiato Recupero from R2M and Andrea Giovanni Nuzzolese from CNR presented MARIO at the EU Project Networking session of the 12th ESWC 2015 held in Portoroz, Slovenia from 31th May to 4th June 2015.
Here is the list of the presented EU projects.
An article about the MARIO project has recently been published in another country.. this time in Germany.
The article has been published in the 28th April 2015 release of Passauer Neue Presse regional newspaper of Verlagsgruppe Passau GmbH. Another press release has been published on the Universität Passau website.
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