Browsing by Author "MacDonald, B"

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Embargo
Case studies for model driven engineering in mobile robotics
(IEEE, 2011-05-09) MacDonald, B; Roop, p; Abbas, T; Datta, C; Jayawardena, C; Diprose, J; Hosking, J; Bhatti, Z
Case studies for model driven engineering in mobile robotics Page 1 Case studies for model driven engineering in mobile robotics Bruce MacDonald Partha S Roop Tanveer Abbas Chandimal Jayawardena Chandan Datta Jamie Diprose* John Hosking* Zeeshan E Bhatti Robotics Laboratory Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering *Department of Computer Science University of Auckland 9 May 2011 Page 2 Outline • Model driven engineering • Case studies: 1. Customization tools for different human roles 2. Defining interactions 3. Programming by demonstration 4. Visual programming 5. Safety critical robotics Page 3 Model driven engineering Designer provides high level specification • Sound formal model – Ideal case: amenable to formal checking • Visual design tools • Cognitively appropriate for human designer roles eg medication management in healthcare – Developers (software development …
Open Access
Feasibility study of a robotic medication assistant for the elderly
(Academia, 2011-01-17) Tiwari, P; Warren, J; Day, K; MacDonald, B; Jayawardena, C; Kuo, I.H; Igic, A; Datta, C
Management of complex medication regimens by older people poses a significant challenge wherein use of information technology could play a role in improving clinical efficacy and safety of treatment. The use of computing devices, however, presents a special challenge to older people given their physical and cognitive limitations. Robotic platforms show promise for extending the functionality of the user interface to make personalized interaction engaging and empowering, and for proactively reaching out to older users to support their healthcare delivery. We believe that a robot combining a touch screen and voice based interface could offer an effective platform to meet these requirements. This paper reports on a feasibility study of such a system for helping older people with their medications. We exposed 10 relatively independent residents of an aged care facility to our robot running a medication reminding application while they took their medications. The interaction was followed by a questionnaire and structured interview to elicit their opinions and feedback. We found the application to be well received as all users could successfully complete the session, and most subjects found it easy to use, appropriately designed and felt confident using it. A number of technical errors were uncovered, and the results suggest opportunities to refine the equipment and dialog design to provide a better robotic medication assistant.
Embargo
Lounging with robots–social spaces of residents in care: a comparison trial
(Wiley Online Library, 2015-12-02) Peri, K; Kerse, N; Broadbent, E; Jayawardena, C; Kuo, T; Datta, C; Stafford, R; MacDonald, B
To investigate whether robots could reduce resident sleeping and stimulate activity in the lounges of an older persons care facility.
Open Access
Robots in older people’s homes to improve medication adherence and quality of life: a randomised cross-over trial
(Springer, Cham, 2014-10-27) Broadbent, E; Peri, K; Kerse, N; Jayawardena, C; Kuo, I; Datta, C; MacDonald, B
Healthcare robots are being developed to help older people maintain independence. This randomised cross-over trial aimed to investigate whether healthcare robots were acceptable and feasible and whether the robots could impact quality of life, depression and medication adherence. 29 older adults living in independent units within a retirement village were given robots in their homes for 6 weeks and had a non-robot 6-week control period, in a randomised order. The robots reminded people to take medication, provided memory games, entertainment, skype calls, and blood pressure measurement. The robots were found to be acceptable and feasible, and many participants described them as useful and as friends although not all comments were positive. There were relatively few problems with robot functions. The participants’ perceptions of the robots’ agency reduced over time. The robots had no significant impact on adherence, depression or quality of life. While the robots were feasible and acceptable, improvements in their reliability and functionality may increase their efficacy.