Buddy: an Artificial CompanionElderly Mental Health

Corey BestAlyssa Fischer

Kaeleigh KennedyShereen Teymour

Fatima UddinAlyssa Young

A Disparity in Mental Health:

The Elderly Mental Health• 20% of individuals

over age 55 have some type of mental health concern

(CDC, 2008)

• Of any age group, men aged 85+ have the highest suicide rate

Depression• Is the most

prevalent mental health concern among elderly population

• Is NOT a normal part of getting older and is treatable in 80% of the cases

A Disparity in Mental Health:

The Elderly The Problem:• Physical and mental

side affects of loneliness in the elderly• Hardening of the

arteries• High blood

pressure• Depression• High cortisol levels• Memory problems

(Gammon, 2012)

Loneliness• 18% of seniors live

alone and 43% report feeling lonely on a regular basis

(Botek, 2012)

• Loneliness may lead to depression and adverse health consequences

Product Description Structure

• Artificial companion, “man’s best friend”

• Softer texture, but accepted as mechanical

Function• Mental stimulation:

therapeutic, conversational, & emotionally engaging

• Surveys for patient’s healthcare provider

• Filling the gap

“Buddy”

Target Populations• Elderly individuals who

live alone OR feel isolated living in a group home

• Primary Health care providers of elderly patients

Product Description

“Buddy”: an Artifical Companion

Benefits to Target Populations

Benefits to target populations• Efficient• Increased communication• Mental stimulation• Decreased loneliness• Entertainment• Overall increased mental and physical

health

Integration & Implementation

Hardware• Sensors• Audio input & output• Storage and

memory Software

• Use of applications Personnel

• Primary care providers

Training & Education• On site

Purchase of Product• Through Professionals• Private sector

Continued Maintenance

Proven Methodologies UTOPIA Project

• Facilitates health and happiness in various ways

HOMIE• Able to understand its

owner’s emotions

COMPANIONS Project• Pro-activity

Picture retrieved from: Kriglstein, S. & Wallner, 2005

Barriers to Entry Barriers of “Buddy”

• Gaining provider acceptance for installation and distribution

• Costs for creation and for purchase• Consumer acceptance • Health conditions that make it difficult for

patient use• Similarity to existing products may create

competition

Anticipated Costs Cost for making one

artificial companion• Voice detection technology:

$8,000• Training of provider: $1,000• Touch Sensation technology:

$8,000• Microphone and speakers:

$5,000• Applications for survey

conduction: $4,000• Application using natural

language user interface: $10,000

• Extra materials: $500• Total = $36,500

Total funding needed• 400 million dollars

Future of “Buddy” Goals

• Lower rates of suicide from depression

• Lower rates of depression among elderly who experience loneliness

Future additions• Connection of audiobooks

to the artificial companion to read stories

• Face recognition• Enhanced provider

integration: to allow delivery of cognitive therapy techniques

• Improved user integration: accommodations for blind or deaf patients

Evaluation Evaluation of “Buddy” to ensure goals

are met:• Stage 1 of evaluation: general evaluation of

product acceptance Pilot study of 50 users

• Stage 2 of evaluation: achievement of projected goals Optional user agreement to share data

gathered from surveys by product Improvement of health overall?

NIH Funding and Conclusions

Why “Buddy”?• Hopes of launching

our product/service• Companionship

value, but also adjunct to treatment

• Benefits to target populations, overall improvement in health

Development Plan:• Year One:

Audiobooks• Year Two: Facial

recognition• Year Three:

Enhanced provider integration

Sources Bickmore, T., Caruso, L., Clough-Gorr, K., & Heeren, T. (2005). ‘It’s just like

you talk to a    friend’    relational agents for older adults. Interacting with Computers, 17(6), 711-735.

Botek, A. (2012). The elder loneliness epidemic. Retrieved January 23, 2013, from http://www.agingcare.com/Articles/loneliness-in-the-elderly-151549.htm

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and National Association of Chronic Disease Directors. The State of Mental Health and Aging in America Issue Brief 1: What Do the Data Tell Us? Atlanta, GA: National Association of Chronic Disease Directors; 2008.

Gammon, K. (2012). Why loneliness can be deadly. Retrieved January 23, 2012, from http://www.livescience.com/18800-loneliness-health-problems.html

Kidd, C., Lee, C., Lesh, N., Rich, C., & Sidner, C. (2005). Explorations in engagement for humans and robots. Artificial Intelligence, 166(1), 140-164.

Kriglstein, S. & Wallner, Gunter. (2005). HOMIE: an artificial companion for elderly people. CHI ’05 Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing, 2094-2098. doi: 10.1145/1056808.1057106

Mival, O., Cringean, S., & Benyon, D. (2004). Personification technologies: developing artificial companions for older people. 1-8 http://web.media.mit.edu/~guy/lab/chi04/mival04.pdf

Peltu, M. & Wilks, Y. (2008). Close engagements with artificial companions: key social, psychological, ethical, and design issues. Oxford Internet Institute, 14,1-33.