Application of Social Robots in Healthcare: Review on Characteristics, Requirements, Technical Solutions

Abstract

Cyber-physical or virtual systems or devices that are capable of autonomously interacting with human or non-human agents in real environments are referred to as social robots. The primary areas of application for biomedical technology are nursing homes, hospitals, and private homes for the purpose of providing assistance to the elderly, people with disabilities, children, and medical personnel. This review examines the current state-of-the-art of social robots used in healthcare applications, with a particular emphasis on the technical characteristics and requirements of these different types of systems. Humanoids robots, companion robots, and telepresence robots are the three primary categories of devices that are identified and discussed in this article. The research looks at commercial applications, as well as scientific literature (according to the Scopus Elsevier database), patent analysis (using the Espacenet search engine), and more (searched with Google search engine). A variety of devices are enumerated and categorized, and then our discussion and organization of their respective specifications takes place.

Keywords

• social robots
• healthcare
• telepresence robot
• human–robot interaction
• artificial intelligence
• companion robot