Robotic service assistant serves drinks to residents
Alongside the intelligent care cart, the robotic service assistant is another result of the SeRoDi project. Stocked with up to 28 drinks or snacks, the mobile robot is capable of serving them to patients or residents. Once again, the goal is to reduce the workload of the staff, in addition to improving the hydration of the residents by means of regular reminders. Using the robot also has the potential to promote the independence of those in need of care.
At the Seniorenzentrum Waldhof in Mannheim, where the robotic service assistant was trialed for one week in a common room, it made for a welcome change, with many residents being both curious and interested. Using the robot’s touch screen, they were able to select from a choice of drinks, which were then served to them by the robot. Once all the supplies had been used up, the service assistant returned to the kitchen, where it was restocked by the staff before being sent back to the day room by the use of a smartphone.
This robot, too, received great interest from the participating nursing staff, who also discussed a host of possible improvements and additions to the robot in the course of the trial. Interaction with the residents was successful in the majority of cases, it merely sometimes being necessary for them to be shown how to use the touch screen. The synthesized voice of the robot was especially popular and even motivated the residents to converse with the robot.