Scientists agree that the number of people with dementia will only increase in the coming years. On top of that, dementia is currently not curable. The number of people with dementia will skyrocket, partly due to the ageing population in the future, to more than half a million by 2040. By 2050, the number of people with dementia is likely to peak at over 620,000 in the Netherlands.

Quality of life and autonomy

The new prototype Mr illi (a sequel to illi-tv) helps increase quality of life and autonomy for as many people with dementia as possible. It provides a place of rest, relaxation and recognition, but also invites activation. In addition, Mr illi relieves care professionals and informal carers. In this way, it ensures that people with dementia can continue to live (independently) at home for as long as possible, which also reduces care costs.

Digital tool

The Mr illi is an accessible television app aimed at people with dementia, giving users a responsible alternative to normal, yet often ‘busy’, television. When the Mr illi is turned on, it automatically starts up the user’s personal daily programme, consisting of videos, photos and music linked to his/her interests. Recalling memories works beneficial in depression, facilitating social contact, encouraging positive self-image, providing sensory stimulation and getting the brain working again. Even in advanced stages of memory loss, songs from the past and familiar imagery can loosen up a lot.

Using AI, Just In Time Adaptive Interventions are developed so that the resident is encouraged to eat, drink, take medication or go to bed at the right time, for example. This promotes the resident’s autonomy. You easily operate the Mr illi with your own remote control. Informal carers and care professionals can use the portal to remotely send messages, add reminders and keep an agenda for the elderly person with dementia.

In addition, there is currently no comparable app developed specifically for older people (with dementia). Because it is an app, it eliminates the need for hardware. This saves on maintenance and makes the product more scalable.

Research question

The central key question of this study is:
‘How can Mr illi contribute to improving the quality of life of people with dementia and their informal carers?’

Project duration

1 Mar 2024 -1 Dec 2024

Project manager

prof. dr Somaya Ben Allouch

Researchers

dr. Lamia Elloumi

Funding

Innovatiefonds Zorg en Welzijn Amstelveen

Partners

• illi Engineering B.V.
• Thuiszorgorganisatie Amstelring
• Gemeente Amstelveen

The aim of the extension request is therefore to continue this trajectory and arrive at a model of sustainable deployment of social robot ‘Pepper’ on PG wards. It will be examined what effects occur on a PG ward and whether there are any differences from those previously found.

The user is both the care professional and the resident with the diagnosis of dementia, Providing care to this client population can be intensive and requires a lot of supervision and individual attention: the behavior of clients can turn into incomprehension, restless behavior and even (mild) panic. Fellow residents are inconvenienced by this and may also become restless. Sufficient time and/or the right attention are essential. For the healthcare professional, things such as unrest, work pressure and stress, and sometimes also a lack of time, are a cause for not being able to properly perform daily activities as desired.

Can social robots contribute to reducing the workload for the healthcare worker and improving the well-being (e.g. reducing anxiety) of the client?

Social robots offer new opportunities and can add value to healthcare; It is known from international scientific literature that social robots can monitor the health of the elderly, support their physical and cognitive health and can contribute to a better general well-being. The use of robotics is particularly promising for elderly people with dementia.

ZorgAccent is an organization that is very innovative and wants to investigate what will be possible in the future and what robotics can mean in elderly care, but also what the qualitative and quantitative effects are for both care providers and clients and residents. Due to the increasing demand for care and the increasing shortage on the labor market, ZorgAccent feels socially responsible to look for innovation and technological solutions that either solve problems or that make problems smaller. It has also been shown that when healthcare workers embrace innovation (robotics), the chance of success increases. ‘It comes from the employees, it is from the employees and it becomes the employees’.

The long-term cooperation between the partners is continued with this application.

Project duration

1 Jan 2022 -1 Sep 2024

Project manager

prof. dr Somaya Ben Allouch

Researchers

dr. Lamia Elloumi

prof. dr Somaya Ben Allouch

Funding

Wet Langdurige Zorg (WLZ)

Partners

• DigiNova B.V.
• ZorgAccent

The COVID-19 measures have a major impact on how children are educated worldwide. Dutch children also had to make the switch in the first lockdown from physical to digital education. During the second lockdown, education and interaction between teachers and students was again mainly via screens.

The purpose of this application is to build on an already existing application by (further) developing social robotics as a learning tool to support teachers and students in the upper years, namely groups 6, 7 and 8, of primary education to gain insight into an increase in accumulated learning disadvantages due to COVID-19 measures in math education among students.

In addition to obtaining the insights, social robotics and the associated math modules will also be used to support teachers in providing math education to students in a motivating way.

The broad consortium, consisting of primary schools, teacher training colleges, municipalities, robotics company, colleges and universities, makes it possible to go through an iterative cycle during the project so that adjustments to the social robot can be made during the duration of the project. With this approach, the outcomes after the project can be integrated without too much extra development time into the already available infrastructure of primary schools for the use of social robotics in the learning process.

This research will provide insights into 1) the functioning of the diagnostic and educational function of social robotics in mathematics education in upper primary education; 2) the use and implementation of social robotics to reduce COVID-19 learning gaps in upper primary education; 3) how technological innovations such as social robotics are used by teachers in the learning process of their students and whether they experience a facilitating role of the robot in this; and 4) the empowering role that innovations in education can have in limiting the negative consequences such as the COVID-19 learning disadvantages.

Please see the  SOROCOVA website for up to date information about the project.

Image & Video

Publications

Design Specifications for a Social Robot Math Tutor – ‘Best Studies Paper Award – Runner up’

(2023 )Mike Ligthart, Simone de Droog, Marianne Bossema, Lamia Elloumi, Kees Hoogland, Matthijs Smakman, Koen Hindriks & Somaya Ben AllouchHRI ’23  >>download

Project duration

1 Jun 2021 -31 May 2023

Project manager

prof. dr Somaya Ben Allouch

Researchers

dr Simone de Droog

Marianne Bossema MSc

drs Monique Schaule Jullens

dr. Lamia Elloumi

Koen Hindriks, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam

Matthijs Smakman, Hogeschool Utrecht

Kees Hoogland, Hogeschool Utrecht

Stan van Ginkel, Hogeschool Utrecht

Funding

SIA COVID-19 fonds

Partners

• Vrije Universiteit Amsterrdam
• Hogeschool Utrecht
• Florente Basisscholen
• Gemeente Diemen
• Gemeente Amsterdam
• Universiteit van Amsterdam
• Interactive Robotics