Investigation on People Living with Seal Robot at Home

Abstract

This study examined people living with Paro, a seal robot, and how they interact with it. Questionnaires were sent along with Paro to the owners who could voluntarily choose to respond. Eighty-five responses were obtained and analyzed in terms of gender, preference for animals, and pet ownership experience. The results showed that for females, besides "can touch and hug," "tactile texture" is also an important reason for keeping Paro. In addition, owners' preference for animals seems to influence how they touch Paro. Owners who have a dislike or no preference for animals tend to touch Paro differently than do those who like animals, seemingly because of their different playing styles. Moreover, owners who have pet ownership experience tend to talk to Paro more when they wake up and go to sleep compared to owners who have never kept pets. Furthermore, owners who have pet ownership experience demand a "collar" as an accessory for Paro more than do those who have no previous experience of keeping pets. This paper presents and analyzes data on the effects of owners' gender and pet ownership experience on their interactions with Paro.

Understanding the potential of PARO for healthy older adults

“…1) was developed by Dr. Takanori Shibata of the Intelligent Systems Research institute of the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology in Japan. It was designed as a “mental-commitment robot”, that is, its function is solely to interact with people and elicit positive emotions (Shibata et al, 2012). PARO has tactile sensors on its endoskeleton, which is covered in soft fur to promote engagement.…”

“…Furthermore, users are likely to have pre-existing notions about the behavior of common household pets such as cats and dogs, and so their expectations may not be met when interacting with their robotic counterparts. In contrast, PARO’s unfamiliar seal-like appearance may allow it to be more easily accepted (Shibata et al, 2012; Shibata and Tanie, 2001). …”

“…For example, assessing how it would “enhance performance” may be difficult for a person, given that it is designed to elicit positive emotions, not to enhance performance of an action or activity (Shibata et al, 2012), but this has not been empirically tested. Furthermore, some contributing factors would be difficult to measure due to the novelty of PARO, such as the social influence factor (whether the user thinks other people believe he/she should use the system) of the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) model (Heerink et al, 2010a).…”

Robotic Seals as Therapeutic Tools in an Aged Care Facility: A Qualitative Study

“…Takanori Shibata, the inventor of the Paro robotic seal, has undertaken various studies into the use and value of his product. One example is the administration of a questionnaire sent with the robot when purchased [20], with a subsequent study comparing video recordings of elderly persons with dementia interacting with Paro versus a stuffed toy lion [21]. …”

Self–Other's Perspective Taking: The Use of Therapeutic Robot Companions as Social Agents for Reducing Pain and Anxiety in Pediatric Patients

“…When elderly patients suffering from dementia interacted with Paro for a period of time, their emotional well-being and depression improved. 9,10 Later, Wada et al 11 found that Paro facilitated human interactions rather than replacing them. Also, urine tests indicated that patients' stress levels were decreased after they interacted with Paro.…”