Sally Whelan
Papers
15
Total Citations
531
H-Index
9
About
Sally Whelan is a prominent researcher specializing in social robotics, dementia care, and assistive technologies for older adults. Her work sits at the critical intersection of technology and person-centered care, examining how innovative robotic solutions can address the profound challenges of loneliness, social isolation, and cognitive decline experienced by people living with dementia. Whelan is perhaps best known for her extensive involvement in the EU-funded MARIO Project, a landmark initiative developing and validating a companion robot for people with dementia across multiple care settings, including residential and hospital environments. Her 2018 literature review on factors affecting older adults' acceptability of social robots has become a foundational reference in the field, accumulating 153 citations. Collectively, her MARIO-related publications have garnered nearly 300 citations, demonstrating substantial influence on both research and practice. Beyond MARIO, Whelan has broadened her scope to examine consumer-accessible robotic pets and their real-world usability, reflecting her commitment to practical, affordable solutions. Throughout her body of work, she consistently foregrounds the voices of people with dementia themselves in shaping technological design — as evidenced by her 2016 paper on co-designing an acceptable robot companion — making her contributions as ethically significant as they are scientifically impactful.
Research Focus
Key Achievements
Top Papers
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- 8Interacting with Dementia: The MARIO Approach24 citations · 2017
- 9MARIO Project: Experimentation in the Hospital Setting9 citations · 2019
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