Robots as Game Partners and Game Leaders for Older Adults (RoSA)

The project explores how socially assistive robots, acting as game partners and leaders, can be utilised to enable joyful and meaningful activities with older adults as active co-creators.

Society is undergoing change, with an increasing proportion of elderly individuals and a decreasing proportion of citizens of working age. Alongside this demographic shift, awareness of involuntary loneliness among older adults has grown, bringing with it both physical and mental health risks.

While digital solutions cannot replace human contact, they can contribute to maintaining and enhancing the quality of life.

Games and play can create meaningful activities

The project "Robots as Game Partners and Game Leaders for Older Adults – Joyful Activities that Provide Cognitive and Physical Stimulation (RoSA)" is founded on the premise that games and play can create meaningful activities.

Games and play are a natural and crucial part of human life, regardless of age or background. Many older adults have engaged in games throughout their lives, and their interest often remains despite health-related challenges.

Games as social catalysts

Games stimulate inner playfulness and enhance skills such as problem-solving and coordination. They can also act as social catalysts. RoSA explores how socially assistive robots, acting as game partners and leaders, can be utilised to enable joyful and meaningful activities with older adults as active co-creators.

Two game prototypes

The project begins by identifying requirements based on the needs and interests of older individuals. Based on these requirements, two game prototypes—focusing on cognitive and physical stimulation, respectively—will be developed and evaluated in collaboration with older adults.

Finally, the prototypes will be validated, and a framework with design strategies for robots as game leaders and game partners will be established.

The project is a collaboration between the research environments Informatics and Digital Health Research (DHEAR). It is conducted within the collaborative platform Skaraborg Health Technology Center and involves cooperation with Skövde Municipality, Smarta Hemmet Ekedal, and pensioners’ organisations in Skövde.