• Journal of the Korean Applied Science and Technology
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• v.40 no.3
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• pp.402-411
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• 2023

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of a cognitive enhancement program combined Silbot on cognitive function, depression, and dementia prevention behavior in the elderly complaining of subjective memory decline. The subjects were 170 elderly people living in Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do, and the study was performed at a welfare center. A total of 20 sessions program using Silbot and physical activity was developed and applied, and were evaluated using the Korean version of Montreal Cognitive Assessment (K-MoCA), Geriatric depression Scale(GDS) , and Dementia Prevention Behavior before and after intervention. As a result of the study, the cognitive enhancement program combined Silbot showed statistically significant changes in cognitive function (t=-4.49, p<.001) and depression (t=2.58, p=.023) in the elderly. Therefore, it is expected that the cognitive enhancement program using Silbot will be a useful program that can enhance the cognitive function of the elderly and reduce depression.

• Journal of Science and Technology Studies
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.135-179
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• 2018

How do robots interact with the elderly? In this paper, we analyze the contexts of interaction between robots and the elderly and the role of mediators in initiating, facilitating, and maintaining the interaction. We do not attempt to evaluate the robot's performance or measure the impact of robots on the elderly. Instead, we focus on the circumstances and contexts within which a robot is situated as it interacts with the elderly. Our premise is that the success of human-robot interaction does not depend solely on the robot's technical capability, but also on the pre-arranged settings and local contingencies at the site of interaction. We select three television shows that feature robots for the elderly and one "dementia-prevention" robot in a regional healthcare center as our sites for observing robot-elderly interaction: "Grandma's Robot"(tvN), "Co-existence Experiment''(JTBC), "Future Diary"(MBC), and the Silbot class in Suwon. By analyzing verbal and non-verbal interactions between the elderly and the robots in these programs, we point out that in most cases the robots and the elderly do not meet one-to-one; the interaction is usually mediated by an actor who is not an old person. These mediators are not temporary or secondary components in the robot-elderly interaction; they play a key role in the relationship by arranging the first meeting, triggering initial interactions, and carefully observing unfolding interactions. At critical moments, the mediators prevent the interaction from falling apart by intervening verbally or physically. Based on our observation of the robot-elderly interaction, we argue that we can better understand and evaluate the human-robot interaction in general by paying attention to the existence and role of the mediators. We suggest that researchers in human-robot interaction should expand their analytical focus from one-to-one interactions between humans and robots to human-robot-human interactions in diverse real-world situations.