"무엇을 도와드릴까요?"...치매 환자 돕는 로봇 개발

People with mild dementia experience symptoms like short-term memory loss, …but are still able to function independently.
To help these people in their everyday lives, Korean researchers have developed a care robot.
Park Se-young has more.
"Sir, it's time to wake up."

A small robot starts off the day with a morning greeting.

"How smart of you."

Delighted by the compliment, the robot responds with a bright smile.
It then guides the patient to the bathroom, …while letting him know when he needs to take his medicine and what he needs to do.
It is able to understand voice commands quickly because it has learned about a thousand keywords for various situations.
"The robot is able to show social understanding and interaction because of its cognitive function and ability to communicate through conversation."

Exchanging dialogue with the robot can naturally help improve cognitive ability.
Users can also customize the robot's program to fit their needs.
"Whether the user has an active nature or is passive about the robot, the robot can be programmed to operate accordingly."

The robot may be commercialized as early as next year, …after more field tests in a wide range of situations to reduce errors.
The role of such robots is likely to increase …with the number of dementia patients in Korea expected to surpass one million in the next five years.
Park Se-young, Arirang News.