Companion Robots To Improve Elderly People’s Quality Of Life In Smart Homes

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The Tecnalia Health and Quality of Life Unit is taking part in the Companionable project, the aim of which is to contribute to the enhancement of the quality of life of elderly and disabled persons using robotised solutions designed to operate in intelligent homes.

The initiative, part of the European Union 7th Framework Programme, combines for the first time the use of robot in intelligent domestic environments, with the goal of creating a companion that assists people in their own home and helps them to be independent in their everyday lives. Amongst other aspects, this tool provides a control for recognising emotional states, social and health services support and for videoconferencing with family members or professional carers.

The main lines of research of Companionable involve the development of technologies to create a system that is conscious of its surroundings, with networks of sensors and communications, and the development and design of a mobile robot for therapeutic treatment and care support. The project has set itself the goal of developing a system which is aware of the presence of persons within an intelligent and domotic household, and which interacts with them in a natural and intuitive form.