The CARESSES EU-Japan project: making assistive robots culturally\n competent

Abstract

The nursing literature shows that cultural competence is an important\nrequirement for effective healthcare. We claim that personal assistive robots\nshould likewise be culturally competent, that is, they should be aware of\ngeneral cultural characteristics and of the different forms they take in\ndifferent individuals, and take these into account while perceiving, reasoning,\nand acting. The CARESSES project is an Europe-Japan collaborative effort that\naims at designing, developing and evaluating culturally competent assistive\nrobots. These robots will be able to adapt the way they behave, speak and\ninteract to the cultural identity of the person they assist. This paper\ndescribes the approach taken in the CARESSES project, its initial steps, and\nits future plans.\n