Smrcka, Karel. “Mental-Commitment Robots for Psychological Enrichment.” Engineering News. Creamer Media, Ltd., 6 July 2007. Web. 23 April 2010 <http://www.engineeringnews.co.za/article/mentalcommitment-robots-for-psychological-enrichment-2007-07-06>.
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One of the most famous therapeutic robots is Paro, a robotic seal. It has even been included in the Guinness Book Of World Records. Paro was developed by Dr.Takanori Shibata for the purpose of having beneficial psychological, physiological, and social effects on humans. In his article, "Mental-Commitment Robots For Psychological Enrichment," Karel Smrcka not only describes the robot's complex features, but also points out why, in his view, robots like Paro are superior to live animals in the therapeutic treatment of the elderly. Paro is programmed to be incredibly life-like. It is more active during the day and seems to get sleepy at night. It has sensors that can detect "light, sound, touch, temperature and posture", so it seems to respond appropriately to its environment. It can move its legs and head, blink its eyes, and make "baby seal" sounds. Paro seems to react appropriately with surprise, discomfort, and pleasure depending on its interaction with people. The robot "learns" from positive and negative reinforcement and alters its behavior accordingly. It can "tell" whether it is being hit or petted, and pulls away shyly when its whiskers are touched. Because it has an electromagnetic shield, it can be used by patients with pacemakers. According to Smrcka, Paro has benefits that make it better than live animals for therapeutic interaction with elderly patients. Many nursing homes do not allow live animals and, with Paro, there is no concern about allergies, bites, scratches, or infection.
The benefits of using robots like Paro as described by Karel Smrcka are significant in the consideration of whether social robots should be used in therapeutic situations. It has long been acknowledged that patients benefit from contact with animals. It has been shown that psychologically, patients become more relaxed and motivated, physiologically, their vital signs improve, and socially, they become more communicative with the other patients and with care givers.According to Smrcka, if robots like Paro can produce the same positive results without the drawbacks of live animal therapy, they should be utilized. It seems to be significant that Paro is a baby seal, not an animal that patients have had prior experience with and may have preconceived ideas about like a dog or cat. According to Smrka, when these robots have been used in nursing homes and pediatric wards, the moods of the patients have noticably improved. In patients with dementia, neuronal activites in the brain as measured by EEGs have also improved. If Karel Smrcka is correct, sociable robots like Paro can be instrumental in the prevention of dementia. Smrcka does not address the risks of patients becoming emotionally attached to something that is not living, and one would need to determine if the risks of that attachment are outweighed by the tremendous benefits of interaction with robots like Paro, especially to elderly patients in nursing homes.
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