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Pepper, a robot programmed with hundreds of jokes, has made its national debut as a personal care assistant at a state nursing home in Rose Valley. If you don’t believe it, just ask the residents. Standing four feet tall, Pepper isn’t giving up its primary role: interacting with residents, reminding them to eat, exercise, and even responding to their facial expressions and tone of voice.

Pepper is one of two robots introduced to the nursing home by researchers from the University of Minnesota Duluth. Alongside Pepper is Nao, a two-foot-high robot designed to lead residents in group exercises and dance routines. The goal is to offer technological support to the nursing home industry, which is facing an increase in residents with more complex cases of dementia while simultaneously losing staff and expertise. “At a time when we are losing staff, this technology can provide valuable support,” said Arshia Khan, a UMD computer science professor. Khan and her team have been preparing for years to adapt SoftBank Robotics’ machines for nursing home use, but the pandemic accelerated their timeline due to isolation protocols, highlighting how robots could make a difference.

Pepper is designed to roam the nursing home independently, approaching residents to check if they have health concerns or need company. Its facial recognition software allows the robot to address residents by name and even detect their moods. Biometric data from wristbands worn by residents is transmitted wirelessly to Pepper, enabling the robot to monitor whether they are off their eating or sleeping schedule, struggling to breathe, or feeling sad.

The UMD team includes nurses, psychologists, and ethicists who have considered the social implications of introducing robots into personal caregiving roles. “This technology has the potential to improve lives by handling essential tasks like reminding residents when it’s time to eat or go to bed,” Khan explained.

Nao and Pepper will soon be deployed in seven additional nursing homes across Minnesota, operated by Monarch Healthcare Management, thanks to a $2 million grant from the Department of Human Services. These robots can remind residents to eat or wear a mask without frustration or raised voices, Khan noted. Additionally, they can engage in conversations about the past with residents without ever tiring, except for their occasional need to retreat to self-charging docks.

Sometimes, Pepper’s high-pitched voice makes punchlines difficult to hear, leaving only the robot laughing. Other times, it struggles to hear responses when asking if it should tell more jokes. Adjustments are being made as needed, and the robot’s use of sensor data to respond to residents’ individual needs will be phased in over the coming weeks.

While nursing homes in Japan have been more proactive in using robots to augment care services, their use is also growing in U.S. facilities. Monarch has already experimented with service-oriented robots that deliver drinks and clean floors. According to Dan Streetman, Monarch’s vice president of operations, personal interactions between staff and residents could become more meaningful if robots handle more manual tasks. For example, while Nao leads group exercises, staff can focus on assisting individual residents or attending to other needs elsewhere in the facility.



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