Ameliorating Patient-Caregiver Stigma in Early-Stage Parkinson's Disease using Robot co-Mediators

摘要

Abstract. Facial masking in early stage Parkinson’s disease leads to a well-documented deterioration (stigmatization) in the patient-caregiver relationship. This research described in this paper is concerned with preserving dignity in that bond where otherwise it might be lost, through the use of a robot co-mediator that will be capable of monitoring the human-human relationship for lack of congruence in the perceived emotional states of the parties concerned. This paper describes the component architectural modules that are being used in support of this 5-year effort, including an ethical architecture developed earlier for the military and previous research on affective companion robots for Sony and Samsung that are able to express affective state through kinesics and proxemics. 1