• News & Stories
  • About the campaign
  • Research networks
  • Campaigns to date
FutureWork360: The making of a digital twin
Video: Why robots in elderly care deserve a second chance
FutureWork360: Using digital twins for knowledge transfer – science fiction or a new field of application?
MEJOIN: How AI can support healthcare workers – and not only in a pandemic
FutureWork360: International Open Lab Day
Video: How Biomimetic Design boosts 3D printing
Successful finale of the 2nd international PADERO hackathon
Future of Work campaign goes into extra time
TransAIR: 2021 Transatlantic Workshop 'Cognitive Architectures for Robot Agents'
PADERO: Join the virtual care robots hackathon from 11-12 February 2021
Topics
Partner countries
Initiative and sponsor
AMTT
BRIDGE-US
DIGIMARI
FutureWork 360
GRANITE
IntWash
KIT LINK
MEJOIN
PADERO
TransAIR
  • News & Stories
    • Overview News & Stories
    • FutureWork360: The making of a digital twin
    • Video: Why robots in elderly care deserve a second chance
    • FutureWork360: Using digital twins for knowledge transfer – science fiction or a new field of application?
    • MEJOIN: How AI can support healthcare workers – and not only in a pandemic
    • FutureWork360: International Open Lab Day
    • Video: How Biomimetic Design boosts 3D printing
    • Successful finale of the 2nd international PADERO hackathon
    • Future of Work campaign goes into extra time
    • TransAIR: 2021 Transatlantic Workshop 'Cognitive Architectures for Robot Agents'
    • PADERO: Join the virtual care robots hackathon from 11-12 February 2021
  • About the campaign
    • Overview About the campaign
    • Topics
    • Partner countries
    • Initiative and sponsor
  • Research networks
    • Overview Research networks
    • AMTT
    • BRIDGE-US
    • DIGIMARI
    • FutureWork 360
    • GRANITE
    • IntWash
    • KIT LINK
    • MEJOIN
    • PADERO
    • TransAIR
  • Campaigns to date
  1. The Future of Work
  2. News & Stories

PADERO

Nursing shortages: How robots can provide a cure

©VTT Studio / Shutterstock

Tomorrow’s world? Pepper provides robotic assistance in a nursing home.

Can robots like Pepper help remedy nursing shortages in ageing societies such as Japan and Germany? Scientists from the international robotics research network PADERO say: Yes, they can!

More and more elderly people in Japan and Germany require extensive nursing care and support. But care workers are often already stretched beyond their limits. Great hopes are being pinned on robotic assistants like Pepper to help solve the skills shortage in the care sector.

However, the cute humanoids have not yet reached widespread acceptance within care homes – neither in Japan nor in Germany. This is primarily due to two main hurdles that the PADERO (Participatory Design in Robotics for Elderly Care in Germany and Japan) research network has successfully addressed in cooperation with its partners at the Universities of Kiel, Siegen and Tokyo and at research centers in Sendai, Nagoya and Kobe.

Major hurdle: Fear prevented the use of robots in Europe

For many years, one of the main obstacles blocking the use of robots in retirement homes – at least in Europe – was the fear that it would lead to a loss of jobs.

But also reservations about working with machines meant that, for a long time, nurses, elderly people and their families did not want to picture a future in which robots would become incorporated into nursing care.

© Universität Siegen

Dr. Rainer Wieching is one of the first German researchers to conduct exploratory studies using Pepper in German and Japanese nursing homes.

Two years ago, the tide started to turn

It wasn’t until two years ago that the tide really started to turn. PADERO scientists had conducted a number of studies using the popular Japanese robot ‘Pepper’ over several weeks in two retirement homes in Siegen, Germany and Tokyo, Japan.

The studies were the first to highlight the advantages of working together with robotic assistants. 'The exploratory studies showed that the use of Pepper to support activities like physical activation, cognitive training and social participation, didn’t just make the residents happier, but also put a smile on the staff’s faces!', says Dr. Rainer Wieching, researcher of the PADERO network at the University of Siegen. 'Care workers realised that the robot ‘Pepper’ did not replace them, but was able to support them in some aspects of their work. They saw that Pepper could reduce their workload in the future and help save time – so that they can actually spend more time with those seniors in need.'

The acceptance of assistant robots has never been a problem in technophile Japan. So why did Pepper have trouble gaining a foothold in nursing homes in Japan, a country faced with enormous shortages in the care sector?

Read also: 'New study – Neglect of care sector's needs prevented use of robots in nursing home'...

Contact:

PADERO (Participatory Design in Robotics for Elderly Care)
Chair of Business Informatics and New Media
University of Siegen
Dr. Rainer Wieching
Kohlbettstraße 15
57072 Siegen
Germany

rainer.wieching@uni-siegen.de

Check our social media channels for updates about research career options and funding opportunities in Germany, the latest research news, interesting research projects and upcoming events.

Publisher
Editor
  • Imprint
  • Contact
  • About the campaign
  • Campaigns to date