Bridging Distance with a Collaborative Telepresence Robot for Older Adults – Report on Progress in the CO-HUMANICS Project

In an aging society, the social needs of older adults, such as regular interactions and independent living, are crucial for their quality of life. However, due to spatial separation from their family and friends, it is difficult to maintain social relationships. Our multidisciplinary project, CO-HUMANICS, aims to meet these needs, even over long distances, through the utilization of innovative technologies, including a robot-based system. This paper presents the first prototype of our system, designed to connect family members or friends virtually present through a mobile robot with an older adult. The system incorporates bi-directional video telephony, remote control capabilities, and enhanced visualization methods. A comparison is made with other state-of-the-art robotic approaches, focusing on remote control capabilities. We provide details about the hard- and software components, e.g., a projector-based pointing unit for collaborative telepresence to assist in everyday tasks. Our comprehensive scene representation is discussed, which utilizes 3D NDT maps, enabling advanced remote navigation features, such as autonomously driving to a specific object. Finally, insights about past and concepts for future evaluation are provided to assess the developed system.