Pepper, a humanoid robot, is 1.2 m in height and is designed to move its limbs. There are risks of the older adults experiencing falling and collision accidents when they interact with Pepper. When physical interaction happens between a humanoid robot and human beings, potential harmful physical contact might occur. The aim of this report was to examine the safety management aspects when using Pepper, a humanoid robot for the care of older adults. The older adults’ reactions to Pepper’s functions cannot be predicted. Hence, it is necessary to clarify methods to guarantee its safety in advance and to increase the safety and properties of the robots. The benefits of introducing support robots such as Pepper for aging medical and nursing care settings are obvious. Therefore, engagement in robot development while considering both the risks and benefits is critical. Our academic initiatives have just begun. Through information exchange among researchers, users, engineers, and law specialists, we need to identify latent and prominent risks in situations where Pepper and the older adults interact and deepen our examination of measures against such risks.
References
[1]
Cabinet Office, Government of Japan (2019) The Situation and Future of the Elderly, White Paper on Aging Society (Overall Version). (In Japanese)
https://www8.cao.go.jp/kourei/whitepaper/w-2019/zenbun/pdf/1s1s_01.pdf
[2]
Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (2017) Changes in Labor Force: Annual Report on Health, Labor and Welfare. (In Japanese)
https://www.mhlw.go.jp/wp/hakusyo/kousei/17-2/dl/01.pdf
[3]
Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (n.d.) Appendix 5-3 Welfare Tools Related to Priority Areas in the Use of Robot Technology for Nursing Care. (In Japanese)
https://www.mhlw.go.jp/file/05-Shingikai-12301000-Roukenkyoku-Soumuka/0000094783.pdf
[4]
Robinson, H., Macdnald, B. and Sroadbent, E. (2014) The Role of Healthcare Robots for Older People at Home: A Review. International Journal of Social Robotics, 6, 575-591. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12369-014-0242-2
[5]
Daiwa House Industry Co. Ltd. (n.d.) Seal-Type Therapeutic Robot PARO. (In Japanese) https://www.daiwahouse.co.jp/robot/paro
[6]
Okayama City (n.d.) Nursing Care Equipment Lease Model Projects. (In Japanese)
http://www.city.okayama.jp/hofuku/hokenfukushiseisaku/hokenfukushiseisaku_00084.html
[7]
Saijyo City Official Website (2019) Why Not Use AI Robots to Watch over the Elderly? (In Japanese)
https://www.city.saijo.ehime.jp/soshiki/hokatsushien/h30komyuroboriyousyabosyuu.html
[8]
Robostart Inc. (2015) Started Pepper Demonstration Experiment to Introduce Nursing Care Facilities. (In Japanese)
https://robotstart.info/2015/06/16/report-robot-pepper_jissho.html
[9]
SoftBank Robotics (n.d.) Introduction Example for Pepper Biz (Juntendo Hospital). (In Japanese) https://www.softbank.jp/biz/robot/pepper/case/juntendo
[10]
SoftBank Robotics (n.d.) Introduction Example for Pepper Biz (Ittokai, Social Welfare Corporation). (In Japanese)
https://www.softbank.jp/biz/robot/pepper/case/ittokai
Kuwamura, K., Nishio, S. and Sato, S. (2016) Can We Talk through a Robot as If Face-to-Face? Long-Term Fieldwork Using Teleoperated Robot for Seniors with Alzheimer’s Disease. Frontier in Psychology, 7, 1066.
https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01066
[15]
Ogawa, K., Nishio, S., Koda, K., Balistreri, G., Watanabe, T. and Ishiguro, H. (2011) Exploring the Natural Reaction of Young and Aged Person with Telenoid in a Real World. Journal of Advanced Computational Intelligence and Intelligent Informatics, 15, 592-597. https://doi.org/10.20965/jaciii.2011.p0592
Vasic, M. and Billard, A. (2013) Safety Issues in Human-Robot Interactions. Proceeding of IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation, Germany, 197-204.
[18]
Tanioka, R., Sugimoto, H., et al. (2019) Characteristics of Transactive Relationship Phenomena among Older Adults, Care Workers as Intermediaries, and the Pepper Robot with Care Prevention Gymnastics Exercises. The Journal of Medical Investigation, 66, 46-49. https://doi.org/10.2152/jmi.66.46
[19]
Miyagawa, M., Yasuhara, Y., et al. (2019) The Optimization of Humanoid Robot’s Dialog in Improving Communication between Humanoid Robot and Older Adults. Intelligent Control and Automation, 10, 118-127.
https://doi.org/10.4236/ica.2019.103008
[20]
Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (2018) Development and Popularity of Robots. (In Japanese)
https://www.mhlw.go.jp/stf/seisakunitsuite/bunya/0000209634.html
[21]
Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (2018) Project on the Development and Promotion of Introducing Robots and Nursing Care Devices (Standards Formulation and Evaluation Project): Research on the Development of Robotic Nursing Equipment Robot List. (In Japanese)
https://www.amed.go.jp/content/000003887.pdf
[22]
SoftBank Robotics (n.d.) Pepper. (In Japanese)
https://www.softbankrobotics.com/jp/product/biz3/spec
[23]
Retsch, T.S. and Guido Marty, A. (2011) Safety Principles for Industrial Robots.
http://iloencyclopaedia.org/part-viii-12633/safety-applications/94-58-safety-applications/safety-principles-for-industrial-robots
[24]
Chen, J.Y.C., Barnes, M.J. and Harper-Sciarini, K. (2011) Supervisory Control of Multiple Robots: Human-Performance Issues and User-Interface Design. IEEE Transactions on Systems, MAN, and Cybernetics Part C: Applications and Reviews, 41, 435-453. https://doi.org/10.1109/TSMCC.2010.2056682
[25]
Iwata, H. and Sugano, S. (2009) Design of Human Symbiotic Robot TWENDY-ONE. Proceeding of IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation, Kobe, 580-586. https://doi.org/10.1109/ROBOT.2009.5152702
[26]
Elkmann, N., Fritzsche, M. and Schulenburg, E. (2011) Tactile Sensing for Safe Physical Human-Robot Interaction. Proceeding of ACHI: The Fourth International Conference on Advances in Computer-Human Interactions, Lausanne, 212-217.
https://doi.org/10.1145/1957656.1957700
[27]
Kai, Y. and Sando, S. (2014) Development of a Velocity and Contact Force-Based Mechanical Safety Device for Service Robots. Proceeding of IEEE International Conference on Automation Science and Engineering, Taipei, 1188-1193.
https://doi.org/10.1109/CoASE.2014.6899477
[28]
Civil Aviation Safety Authority, Australian Government (2012) Safety for Aviation: A Practical Guide Safety Risk Management.
https://www.casa.gov.au/sites/g/files/net351/f/_assets/main/sms/download/2012-sms-book3-safety-risk-management.pdf
[29]
National Bureau of Standards, United States of America (1981) A Glossary of Terms for Robotics.
https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GOVPUB-C13-7a9025561f229e1f7fb504ace852d602/
pdf/GOVPUB-C13-7a9025561f229e1f7fb504ace852d602.pdf
[30]
Koopman, P. (2015) Critical Systems and Software Safety.
https://users.ece.cmu.edu/~koopman/lectures/ece649/20_critical_systems.pdf
[31]
Wong, W. (2010) Inherently Unsafe: Safety Issues in Planning a New Facility. In: The Risk Management of Safety and Dependability: A Guide for Directors, Managers and Engineers, Woodhead Publishing Limited, Cambridge, 145-164.
https://doi.org/10.1533/9781845699383.145
[32]
Katsuhige, O. (2005) The Practical FEMA Methods in the Global Standard Era: Quality Management and Reliability, Integrity, Safety Analysis. JUSE Press, Tokyo.
