Therapeutic Seal Robot: PARO

Takanori Shibata

National Institute of Advanced IndustrialScience and Technology (AIST), Japan &

Tokyo Institute of Technology &

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Model: Baby of Harp Seal

Seal Robot, Paro,for Therapy 9th Generation

CPU32bit RISC

Posture Sensor

Light Sensors

Vision

MicrophoneAudition

Weight: 2.5 kg

・Ubiquitous Surface Tactile Sensor ×12

・Artificial Fur(Anti-biotic)

Touch

・Whisker Tactile Sensor

Size:L:550 x W:290

x H:180 mm

Voice RecognitionLearning Functions:

•New Name•Change Behavior

PARO’s Inside (X-ray in NY, 2006)

Safety and DependabilityCE, RoHS, and other regulations

z Anti-bacterial, Hair-Loss Prevention, and SoilResistant Finish in Artificial Fur

z Electromagnetic Shield

z Coping with Strong Force by Humans

z Easy Usage and Maintenance

y One Switch and Pacifier Type Battery Charger

z Tough Structure

z Drop Test

z Stroking Test (100,000 times)

z Anti-Electrostatic Voltage Test (20,000 Volt)

Technical Points

Ubiquitous Surface Tactile Sensor

Automatic Chip Mounter Six Layered Print Circuit

Aesthetic PointsHandmade for Quality

Eyelashes Trimming

Paro Factory

Toyama, Japan

Paro on the World Map(in about 30 countries)

Place where Paro has been used

3,500 Paro in Practical Use

3,500 Paro in more than 30 countries since 2005

300 Paro in Denmark since 2009

(70%+ municipalities adopted Paro

200 Paro in USA since Dec. 2009Approved by FDA asMedical Device

100 Paro in Australia since 2011

Certification of Medical Deviceby FDA in the US in Sep. 2009

AUD 1.15 M for RCT of PARO inAustralia in 2014

z National Health and Medical Research Council(NHMRC)

z Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT) with about400 participants in 30 long-term care facilities

Aging Societies

7%

Aging Society

Key Facts and Statistics - Dementia

From Key Facts and Statistics 2015 – Alzheimer’s Australia

Problems in Elderly Institutions

z Elderly people

y Going into depression easily

y Less communication

y Stress

x Disease, medical treatment

x Living in a group, etc.

z Caregivers

y Difficulty of communication with elderly

y Physical & Pychological damage

Animal Therapy

Problems of Owning Animals

z Allergies

z Bites

z Infection

z House regulation

Difficult to introduce!

Paro will work!

No allergies / No bites / No Infection

Stay with residents for 24 hours

What Paro can do for people with Dementia?

z PARO has been found to reduce patient stressand their caregivers

z PARO stimulates interaction between patientsand caregivers

z PARO has been shown to have a psychologicaleffect on patients, improving their relaxationand motivation

z PARO improves the socialization of patients witheach other and with caregivers

Feedback from users

They’re more attentive, they talk more, they’re more awake. Wehave one resident who’s very lethargic, doesn’t want to doanything but sleep; after 5-10 minutes [with PARO], and then shestarts to pet PARO and start to talk; sometimes she doesn’t wantto let go.

Inga once in a while gets really agitated, PARO changeseverything: calms her down, she doesn’t try to leave or fight. Jocis usually by herself, and needs interaction--she can’t hear verywell—[so PARO] helps her socialize and interact. With Phyllis, ithelps bring back memories of having a pet. They smile, laugh, andare happy.

One night Phyllis was wandering walking around, and Igave PARO to her and she focused and calmed down andthen it helped me pass out my meds.

At night when they don’t want to go to bed, we use it tohelp comfort them like a pet, it helps them get calm andrelax.

I use it with a resident who didn’t like to go to activities.Another is alert, but doesn’t like to go to activities, shewas fascinated with it. I use it when residents are agitatedand wandering around.

Feedback from users

It helps me a lot in managing the residents’ behavior. Ifthey wander around, their attention is more focused onPARO.

It makes my job easier. I don’t have to run around. Ican sit them in one corner then I can do mymedications while they’re interacting with it.And I can’t manage as one [staff] person here and theother [staff is working] on the other side [of thebuilding]. So I can do two jobs in one sitting.

Feedback from users