Simplification of wearable message robot with physical contact for elderly's outing support

Abstract

In this paper, we introduce a wearable message robot that transmits messages to the user and alerts him/her immediately and affectionately through physical contact. This robot is aimed at supporting elderly people who would like to participate in outings but suffer from anxiety. The system creates haptic stimuli corresponding to the user's clothing and posture. We implemented two versions of the system: the first combines haptic stimuli and anthropomorphic motion to express physical contact, while the second is a simplified system for application on smartphones to provide ubiquitous services.