France tests robots to help the elderly

Developed by a team of Scottish artificial intelligence (AI) experts from Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, these social assistance robots perform routine tasks on behalf of hospital staff. They help reduce physical contact between clinicians and patients, as well as reduce the risk of infection transmission, while also increasing the productivity of nurses, doctors and hospital staff.

The Hôpitaux de Paris Public Assistance Hospital in France is testing a "social assistance" robot to help ease the workload of its staff. (Illustration: Wazoku)

In fact, these robots are part of Heriot-Watt University's national Robotarium of social assistance robots in geriatric care. The experiments were made possible by the development of large language model technology, which allows the robots to have natural and fluent conversations, when interacting with elderly patients at the Hôpitaux de Paris Public Assistance Hospital.

The test results showed that the robots can engage in social interactions, by greeting patients, answering questions and giving directions, helping to reduce the workload for hospital staff. Furthermore, they can simultaneously understand conversations between multiple communicators.

“The prospect of robots collaborating seamlessly with hospital staff to improve the patient experience is now closer to reality. Promising early trials at the Hôpitaux de Paris have demonstrated the robot’s ability to converse effectively with patients,” explains Oliver Lemon, professor of AI and academic co-lead at the National Robotarium for Social Assistance Robotics.

“We believe the pilot project marks an important milestone in the development of interactive robots, and we are proud of these achievements, while recognizing the exciting challenges that lie ahead,” he added.

According to Professor Anne-Sophie Rigaud, Head of the Department at the Hôpitaux de Paris Public Assistance Hospital, their patients are increasingly showing interest in robots and advances in hospital services. They believe that this robot has the potential to become an essential component of patient care in hospitals, thanks to its extremely intelligent and flexible social interaction capabilities.

“The older adults also expressed satisfaction with the robot’s design and thought it would be useful in providing information, as well as accompanying patients with cognitive disorders,” she said.

Experts say the trial at the Hôpitaux de Paris has provided valuable insights into how emerging AI robotics can improve care delivery and health safety, while also spurring continued innovation in computer vision, audio processing and human-robot interaction, with potential for major global applications.

HUYNH DUNG (Source: Interestingengineering)

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