Exploring the role of robotics in community engagement and combating loneliness

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Loneliness and social isolation are growing concerns among elderly populations, particularly in assisted living communities. To address this, researchers are exploring how social robots can play a role in fostering engagement and encouraging social interactions.

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Project Overview

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In Aspen Gardens, a UK housing complex for older adults, a Furhat robot has been introduced in the common bistro area. Its purpose is to engage residents in conversations while preparing coffee orders through an automated coffee machine. The residents provide feedback to researchers to understand more about human-robot interactions.

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About the research group

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This project is led by a team from The National Robotarium, the UK’s centre for Robotics and Artificial Intelligence at Heriot-Watt University (Edinburgh). The centre pioneers cutting-edge robotic and AI solutions, collaborating closely with industry to bring research into real-world applications. The research group behind this initiative belongs to the Human-Robot Interaction division. It studies how people engage with robots and tackles key challenges in developing future robots for healthy aging and independent living, including how to build human trust in robots to encourage adoption.

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How Furhat Contributes

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Researchers programmed the Furhat robot with information about the local area, its history and ongoing activities to encourage residents to interact, share stories, and participate in social conversations. This programming helps the robot engage with the residents, and shows the researchers to which extent it promotes community connection and reduces thefeelings of loneliness for the residents. The project is led by Bruce Wilson, a PhD student at Heriot-Watt, along with David Robb and Dr Theodoros Georgiou, Assistant Professor of Computer Science at Heriot-Watt University and The National Robotarium.

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According to Wilson:  

“This collaboration [...] is a vital part of our wider research initiative to understand how humans and robots interact in real-world settings. The data we gather will inform the future development of robotics across multiple sectors, particularly in social care where such technology could transform service delivery.”

Lisa Farrell, Business Development Manager at The National Robotarium, adds: 

“By placing conversational robots in communities like Aspen Gardens, we’re not just conducting research – we’re advancing our understanding of how AI and robotics can genuinely improve quality of life for elderly residents while addressing pressing challenges in the care sector. This project represents a critical step in the National Robotarium’s mission to create people-centred, intelligence-driven robotic solutions that can be widely deployed to support an ageing population.”

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Publications

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Engwall, O., et al. "Robot Interaction Styles for Conversation Practice in Second Language Learning." International Journal of Social Robotics, vol. 13, 2021, pp. 251-276.

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Engwall, O., R. Cumbal, J. Lopes, M. Ljung, and L. Månsson. "Identification of Low-Engaged Learners in Robot-Led Second Language Conversations with Adults." ACM Transactions on Human-Robot Interaction, vol. 11, no. 2, 2022, article 18.

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Engwall, O., J. Lopes, and R. Cumbal. "Is a Wizard-of-Oz Required for Robot-Led Conversation Practice in a Second Language?" International Journal of Social Robotics, vol. 14, no. 4, 2022, pp. 1067-1085.

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Engwall, O., et al. "Learner and Teacher Perspectives on Robot-Led L2 Conversation Practice." ReCALL, vol. 34, no. 3, 2022, pp. 344-359.

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Engwall, O., and J. Lopes. "Interaction and Collaboration in Robot-Assisted Language Learning for Adults." Computer Assisted Language Learning", vol. 35, no. 5-6, 2022, pp. 1273-1309.

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Garcia, F. J. C., J. Lopes, and H. Hastie. "Natural Language Interaction to Facilitate Mental Models of Remote Robots." Workshop on Mental Models of Robots at HRI'20, Association for Computing Machinery, 2020.

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Lim, M. Y., et al. "Demonstration of a Robo-Barista for In the Wild Interactions." 17th ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction (HRI), IEEE, 2022, pp. 1200-1201.

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Lim, M. Y., D. Robb, B. Wilson, and H. Hastie. "Feeding the Coffee Habit: A Longitudinal Study of a Robo-Barista." 32nd IEEE International Conference on Robot and Human Interactive Communication (RO-MAN), IEEE, 2023, article 10309621.

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Lopes, J., et al. "Towards a Conversational Agent for Remote Robot-Human Teaming." 2019 14th ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction (HRI), IEEE, 2019, pp. 548-549.

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Lopes, J., D. A. Robb, X. Liu, and H. Hastie. "Demonstration of a Social Robot for Control of Remote Autonomous Systems." HRI '20: Companion of the 2020 ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction, Association for Computing Machinery, 2020, p. 75.

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Moujahid, M., et al. "Demonstration of a Robot Receptionist with Multi-party Situated Interaction." 17th ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction (HRI), IEEE, 2022, pp. 1202-1203.

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Moujahid, M., D. Robb, C. Dondrup, and H. Hastie. "Come Closer: The Effects of Robot Personality on Human Proxemics Behaviours." 32nd IEEE International Conference on Robot and Human Interactive Communication (RO-MAN), IEEE, 2023, article 10309333. ‍

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Robb, D., et al. "Seeing Eye to Eye: Trustworthy Embodiment for Task-Based Conversational Agents." Frontiers in Robotics and AI, vol. 10, 2023, article 1234767.

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Sieińska, W., et al. "Conversational Agents for Intelligent Buildings." Proceedings of the 21st Annual Meeting of the Special Interest Group on Discourse and Dialogue, Association for Computational Linguistics, 2020, pp. 45-48.

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Wilson, B. W., et al. "Follow the Yellow or Red Brick Road? Investigating the Impact of Narratives in a Guided Navigation Task." HAI '24: Proceedings of the 12th International Conference on Human-Agent Interaction, Association for Computing Machinery, 2024, pp. 411-413.