Social inclusion with robots: A RAPP case study using NAO for technology illiterate elderly at Ormylia Foundation

Abstract

What really happens in terms of social inclusion and exclusion differentiates among European Countries, cultures and social groups and is being affected by socio-economic factors, social perceptions and societal changes. There are also variations among elderly in the European Union concerning their retirement from labor, institutionalization (residential or independent living), opportunities for further development or leisure and many more. A lot of EU projects focus on services that can be easy to access and affordable by elderly, enhancing the independency and autonomous living of the seniors. RAPP (EU-FP7) is addressing this need by offering a solution in the form of a software platform that will support the creation and delivery of robotic applications (RApps) targeted to people at risk of exclusion, especially older people. In this paper we are focusing to technology illiterate elderly, a group of seniors engaged for RAPP by Ormylia Foundation.