This project intends to develop a robotic health assistant-based smart home healthcare system to augment the productivity and efficiency of home healthcare providers. The goal is to empower home healthcare providers to improve productivity and quality of work life. The project addresses the nation's growing need to provide healthcare to home-bound older adults. It also aims to improve our understanding of the design, development and use of anthropomorphic machines. This project will expand the research frontier in telemedicine by introducing the concept of a robotic health assistant (RoHA), which has the potential to transform the work of home healthcare services and lower the cost of care. This research is expected to deepen our understanding of the impact of artificial intelligence on healthcare providers, and prepare a new generation of providers for a technological transformation in the healthcare industry. The proposed system has the potential to improve the quality of life of under-served older adults in rural areas. The project will impact the educational environment at Oklahoma State University and University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, especially in robotics, AI, geriatrics and gerontology. In addition, it will contribute curriculum integrating robotics, AI, and embedded systems and improve students' understanding of the development and use of anthropomorphic machines, especially in the context of older adults.
The objectives planning project are two-fold. First, the research team will collaborate with industry partners and stakeholders to develop the research concept of a robotic health assistant-based smart home healthcare system. Activities such as focus groups and charrette workshops will be conducted with industry partners and stakeholders. These will identify the needs of healthcare providers and learn how case managers could deliver services via a robotic health assistant. Second, a preliminary study will be conducted. Healthcare professionals will help pilot-test the concept and collect preliminary data and user feedback to improve the design of the RoHA prototype. Natural language-based, older adult-friendly robot skills with be identified and refined with the help of industry partners and key stakeholders. These skill will evaluate the care recipient's physical and mental well being, and allow data-driven, evidence-based home healthcare. Stakeholder input will provide insights into how the robotic health assistant could enhance current healthcare services. The RoHA has the potential to facilitate online virtual visits with healthcare providers or monitor medication and therapy adherence. The intent would be to proactively intervene on health problems before they progress to a medical emergency. The ultimate goal of this project is to develop the necessary research personnel, research infrastructure, and foundational work to expand the opportunities for studying future technology, future workers, and future work at the level of a FW-HTF full research proposal.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
