scholarly journals Socially Assistive Robots in Aged Care: Ethical Orientations Beyond the Care-Romantic and Technology-Deterministic Gaze

2021 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tijs Vandemeulebroucke ◽  
Bernadette Dierckx de Casterlé ◽  
Chris Gastmans
Keyword(s):  
Aged Care ◽  
Assistive Robots ◽  
Socially Assistive Robots ◽  
Ethical Orientations

Ethics of socially assistive robots in aged-care settings: a socio-historical contextualisation

2019 ◽  
Vol 46 (2) ◽  
pp. 128-136
Author(s):  
Tijs Vandemeulebroucke ◽  
Bernadette Dierckx de Casterlé ◽  
Chris Gastmans
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Aged Care ◽  
Ethical Framework ◽  
Ethical Reflection ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
Assistive Robots ◽  
Socially Assistive Robots ◽  
Sources Of Knowledge ◽  
Democratic Spaces ◽  
Historical Contextualisation

Different embodiments of technology permeate all layers of public and private domains in society. In the public domain of aged care, attention is increasingly focused on the use of socially assistive robots (SARs) supporting caregivers and older adults to guarantee that older adults receive care. The introduction of SARs in aged-care contexts is joint by intensive empirical and philosophical research. Although these efforts merit praise, current empirical and philosophical research are still too far separated. Strengthening the connection between these two fields is crucial to have a full understanding of the ethical impact of these technological artefacts. To bridge this gap, we propose a philosophical-ethical framework for SAR use, one that is grounded in the dialogue between empirical-ethical knowledge about and philosophical-ethical reflection on SAR use. We highlight the importance of considering the intuitions of older adults and their caregivers in this framework. Grounding philosophical-ethical reflection in these intuitions opens the ethics of SAR use in aged care to its own socio-historical contextualisation. Referring to the work of Margaret Urban Walker, Joan Tronto and Andrew Feenberg, it is argued that this socio-historical contextualisation of the ethics of SAR use already has strong philosophical underpinnings. Moreover, this contextualisation enables us to formulate a rudimentary decision-making process about SAR use in aged care which rests on three pillars: (1) stakeholders’ intuitions about SAR use as sources of knowledge; (2) interpretative dialogues as democratic spaces to discuss the ethics of SAR use; (3) the concretisation of ethics in SAR use.

scholarly journals The Ethics of Socially Assistive Robots in Aged Care. A Focus Group Study With Older Adults in Flanders, Belgium

2019 ◽  
Vol 75 (9) ◽  
pp. 1996-2007 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tijs Vandemeulebroucke ◽  
Bernadette Dierckx de Casterlé ◽  
Laura Welbergen ◽  
Michiel Massart ◽  
Chris Gastmans
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Aged Care ◽  
Community Dwelling ◽  
Design Development ◽  
Ethical Perceptions ◽  
Focus Group Study ◽  
Assistive Robots ◽  
Socially Assistive Robots ◽  
Community Dwelling Older Adults

Abstract Objectives Socially assistive robots (SARs) need to be studied from older adults’ perspective, given their predicted future ubiquity in aged-care settings. Current ethical discourses on SARs in aged care are uninformed by primary stakeholders’ ethical perceptions. This study reports on what community-dwelling older adults in Flanders, Belgium, perceive as ethical issues of SARs in aged care. Methods Constructivist grounded theory guided the study of 9 focus groups of 59 community-dwelling older adults (70+ years) in Flanders, Belgium. An open-ended topic guide and a modified Alice Cares documentary focused discussions. The Qualitative Analysis Guide of Leuven (QUAGOL) guided data analysis. Results Data revealed older adults’ multidimensional perceptions on the ethics of SARs which were structured along three sections: (a) SARs as components of a techno-societal evolution, (b) SARs’ embeddedness in aged-care dynamics, (c) SARs as embodiments of ethical considerations. Discussion Perceptions sociohistorically contextualize the ethics of SAR use by older adults’ views on societal, organizational, and relational contexts in which aged care takes place. These contexts need to inform the ethical criteria for the design, development, and use of SARs. Focusing on older adults’ ethical perceptions creates “normativity in place,” viewing participants as moral subjects.

scholarly journals Control Strategies and Artificial Intelligence in Rehabilitation Robotics

AI Magazine ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 36 (4) ◽  
pp. 23-33 ◽  
Author(s):  
Domen Novak ◽  
Robert Riener
Keyword(s):  
Artificial Intelligence ◽  
Control Strategies ◽  
Rehabilitation Robotics ◽  
Control Algorithms ◽  
Assistive Robots ◽  
Socially Assistive Robots ◽  
Rehabilitation Robots ◽  
Exercise Adaptation ◽  
Dominant Paradigm ◽  
Do So

Rehabilitation robots physically support and guide a patient's limb during motor therapy, but require sophisticated control algorithms and artificial intelligence to do so. This article provides an overview of the state of the art in this area. It begins with the dominant paradigm of assistive control, from impedance-based cooperative controller through electromyography and intention estimation. It then covers challenge-based algorithms, which provide more difficult and complex tasks for the patient to perform through resistive control and error augmentation. Furthermore, it describes exercise adaptation algorithms that change the overall exercise intensity based on the patient's performance or physiological responses, as well as socially assistive robots that provide only verbal and visual guidance. The article concludes with a discussion of the current challenges in rehabilitation robot software: evaluating existing control strategies in a clinical setting as well as increasing the robot's autonomy using entirely new artificial intelligence techniques.

Socially Assistive Robots in Elderly Care: A Systematic Review into Effects and Effectiveness

2012 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 114-120.e1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roger Bemelmans ◽  
Gert Jan Gelderblom ◽  
Pieter Jonker ◽  
Luc de Witte
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Elderly Care ◽  
Assistive Robots ◽  
Socially Assistive Robots
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