Social RoboticsUniversity of Houston lab designs companion robots with older adults
The new ELARA Lab tested desktop bots with seniors and studied fears of being watched.
The Empathetic Lifespan AI and Robotics for Aging Lab, led by Chorong Park at the University of Houston, is designing an AI companion aimed at disability and social isolation in later life. Working with a community centre in Richmond, Texas, the team let older adults try desktop robots and sculpt their ideal companion from clay. Park warns that people will reject robots that make them feel surveilled, and the lab is also examining risks such as unhealthy emotional attachment. It reflects a growing push to co-design eldercare robots with their users rather than for them.
Source: InnovationMap
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