Don’t be afraid! Design of a playful cleaning robot for people with dementia

Robot technologies for care homes and people affected by dementia has become a popular research field. However, such technologies have not become mainstream in care homes yet, due to specific issues related to the well being of their residents. For instance, although existing robot vacuum cleaners can provide meaningful support to hygiene practices in care homes, their appearance and loud noise can negatively affect residents. Building on these insights, we developed a playful alternative design. By testing our design in a care home, we have found that a robotic vacuum cleaner can be accepted by residents affected by dementia, when it has a playful appearance and movement pattern, to elicit positive feelings and provide predictability of its actions.