Foreign companies have developed cognitive-assisted electronic dogs, which wag their tails and even have realistic heartbeats when touched

Recently, I wanted to buy a robot dog online as a belated birthday present for my aunt. She was recently diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.

Studies have shown that pets can alleviate the loneliness, anxiety and irritability that come with Alzheimer's disease. My aunt definitely prefers a real dog, but she can't keep it.

Finally I found a toy electronic dog called Golden Pup, which was made by Joy for All. It wears a bright red handkerchief and responds with a bark and nods when you speak.

When you touch it, it wags its tail and even has a realistic heartbeat. It is just one of many robots designed for people with Alzheimer's disease and dementia.

Now, let's take a look at the future of using robots to transform dementia care.

(Source: ALAMY)

As far as bots go, the Golden Pup is undoubtedly a low-tech product, and it sells for just $140. If you're willing to spend around $6,000, you can opt for Paro, a fluffy robotic baby seal developed in Japan that senses touch, light, sound, temperature, and posture.

The makers of Paro say that it forms its own character and also remembers behaviors that attract the attention of its owner.

Both Golden Pup and Paro are now readily available, but researchers are developing more sophisticated bots for people with cognitive impairments that can use artificial intelligence for conversations and games.

Researchers at Indiana University Bloomington in the United States are adapting a commercially available robotic system called QT to serve people with dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

The robot they developed is 60cm tall and looks a bit like a little child in an astronaut's suit.

QT's round white head has a screen with two eyebrows, two eyes, and a mouth, which can make up a variety of expressions. The bot can engage people in conversations, ask AI-generated questions, and keep them talking.

However, the AI models they use are not perfect, and the robots do not react perfectly. During an awkward conversation, one of the study participants told the robot that she had a younger sister. "Sorry to hear that." The robot responded, "Are you okay?" ”

But as large language model technology becomes more sophisticated, the quality of conversations will also improve. When the QT bot made this embarrassing comment, it was running OpenAI's GPT-3 model, which was released in 2020.

The latest version of GPT-4o, which was recently released, is faster and allows for smoother conversations. You can interrupt the model's response, and it will adjust itself.

The idea of using robots to keep people with dementia connected to the world is not easy for everyone to accept. Some argue that this abdicates our social responsibility and that there are privacy concerns. The best robot companions should be personalized.

They collect information about people's lives, learn about their preferences, and find the right time to approach them. This data collection can be unsettling, not only for patients, but also for medical staff.

加拿大温哥华不列颠哥伦比亚大学痴呆症护理和衰老创新（IDEA，Innovation in Dementia care and Aging）实验室的创建者莉莲·洪（Lillian Hung，音译）告诉记者，在一家护理机构的小组中发生了一起事件。

She and her colleagues went out for lunch, and when they returned, they found that the staff had unplugged the robot and covered it with a bag over its head. "They're afraid it's going to keep a secret record of them." She said.

On the other hand, robots have some advantages over humans when it comes to talking to people with dementia. They don't distract, they don't get annoyed or angry when they have to repeat what they've said multiple times, and they don't feel stressed.

What's more, there are more and more people suffering from dementia and too few people caring for them.

According to a new report from the Alzheimer's Disease Society, the U.S. will need more than 1 million additional caregivers between 2021 and 2031 to meet the care needs of people with dementia. This gap between supply and demand is the largest among single occupation categories in the United States.

I have worked in understaffed care facilities. There, patients are often sedated to make it easier for caregivers to keep an eye on them.

They were strapped to wheelchairs and parked in the hallway. We barely have enough carers to take care of the basic needs of people with dementia, let alone provide them with social connections and a good environment.

Wired's Kat McGowan wrote in a story about her parents' dementia and the future of social robots: "Caring is not just about taking care of someone else's physical problems, it's also about taking care of the mental level. ”

"There is not much difference between the needs of adults with dementia and those without dementia, and we are all looking for belonging, meaning and self-fulfillment."

If a robot can enrich the lives of people with dementia in a trivial way, if they can provide companionship where companionship is lacking, that's its victory.

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego, wrote in a 2021 article: "We are currently at an inflection point where developing and deploying cognitively assisted robots and delivering personalized interventions to people with dementia has become relatively easy and inexpensive, and many companies are scrambling to capitalize on this trend." However, it is important to carefully consider the consequences. ”

Many of the more advanced social bots may not be ready to scale up yet, but the low-tech Golden Pup e-pets are. My aunt's illness progressed very quickly, and she occasionally felt depressed and irritable. I hope that electronic pets can be a welcome (and calming) pastime.

Maybe it will bring some joy to my aunt and uncle when they are confused and miserable. Of course, robot puppies aren't for everyone. The Golden Pup I picked may not be a real dog, but I hope it makes a good companion.

Support: Ren

Typesetting: Dox