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The purpose of this article is to frame the development of humanoid healthcare robots (HHRs) within Caring Science. Efforts to introduce robot technologies in nursing practice and to use them in elderly and high-tech healthcare environments have begun in developed countries. HHRs can be used to assist nurses with tasks or to perform care-related tasks independently. HHRs need to be programmed to demonstrate respectful, compassionate, and person-centered care. In this article we suggest Caring Science-informed approaches based on five philosophies/theories that can be used in programming the responses and communication patterns of HHRs.

In this research, participatory action research method was used (11), and researchers continuously discussed and analyzed the recoded data. The transactions were focused/analyzed as to how Pepper -CPGE led the exercises, and how care workers intervened during physical exercise of the older adults.Analyzed scenes were physical exercises with Pepper-CPGE. Recorded videos were analyzed only during (1) upper limb motor functions exercise, and (2) exercises using Radio Gymnastics the First (Rajio Taiso Dai -ichi), a program that is well -known and wellpracticed by most Japanese citizens. Pepper-CPGE instructs the older adults to perform gymnastics activities while viewing the video monitor.

Although progress is being made in affective computing, issues remain in enabling the effective expression of compassionate communication by healthcare robots. Identifying, describing and reconciling these concerns are important in order to provide quality contemporary healthcare for older adults with dementia. The purpose of this case study was to explore the development issues of healthcare robots in expressing compassionate communication for older adults with dementia. An exploratory descriptive case study was conducted with the Pepper robot and older adults with dementia using high-tech digital cameras to document significant communication proceedings that occurred during the activities. Data were collected in December 2020. The application program for an intentional conversation using Pepper was jointly developed by Tanioka’s team and the Xing Company, allowing Pepper’s words and head movements to be remotely controlled. The analysis of the results revealed four development issues, namely, (1) accurate sensing behavior for “listening” to voices appropriately and accurately interacting with subjects; (2) inefficiency in “listening” and “gaze” activities; (3) fidelity of behavioral responses; and (4) deficiency in natural language processing AI development, i.e., the ability to respond actively to situations that were not pre-programmed by the developer. Conversational engagements between the Pepper robot and patients with dementia illustrated a practical usage of technologies with artificial intelligence and natural language processing. The development issues found in this study require reconciliation in order to enhance the potential for healthcare robot engagement in compassionate communication in the care of older adults with dementia.

Healthcare for older adults with dementia is an important healthcare problem in Japan and in other developed countries. Importantly, healthcare workers in Japan are also getting older. In order to address solutions to this problem, using robots is being realized and is starting to assist healthcare and welfare practice needs. The aim of this study was to identify the characteristics of a transactive phenomenon in relationships among older adults with dementia, with nurses as intermediaries and with a cognitive skill-aid robot. Subjects were two institutionalized older adults who were diagnosed with dementia using Hasegawa's Dementia Scale-Revised; a Kabochan (Nodding Kabochan) fixed with a remote-controlled speaker, Pechat (Kabochan with Pechat). Measurements of autonomic nervous activity were done using wearable electrocardiography attached to the subjects for four hours. Heart Rate Variability data were assessed at various frequency bands using a HRV software tool. In a continuously recorded data, interbeat (R-R) intervals were obtained for a 1-min segment using the maximum entropy method. In this study, the two major spectral components of HRV, the variances of the low-frequency (LF: 0.04 -0.15 Hz) band and high-frequency (HF: 0.15 -0.4 Hz) band, were calculated. Activities and behaviors of subjects transacting with Kabochan were observed by the expert nurses and video-recorded. Throughout the transaction period, observations were recorded of patients' behavior, words uttered and over-all contents of the transactive conversation with the Kabochan or Kabochan with Pechat. Identified characteristics were transactive relationship phenomenon; changes in autonomic nervous system activity of persons with How to cite this paper: Osaka, K., Sugimoto, H., Tanioka, T., Yasuhara, Y., Locsin, R., Zhao, Y.R., Okuda, K. and Saito, K. It also showed that autonomic nervous system activity of persons with communication skills is actively changing in older adults with dementia. Conversation of adding Pechat to the Kabochan illustrated that nurses as intermediaries showed emotional conversations as established by effectively manipulating the Pechat. Also, it was revealed that if Kabochan with Pechat uttered words about patient's personal information in a conversation, the patient felt a sense of fear. The researchers suggest that when developing future communication robot for elderly with dementia, it is necessary to consider, for an effective conversation, transactive relationships including nurses as intermediaries. The role functions of these intermediaries have been shown of high versatility, indicating that situations such as these can also be controlled by other healthcare providers such as by occupational therapists.