Reach 2025: AI-Powered Robots
These socially assistive robots could revolutionize elder care
By Abeer Khan
Beyond the Solution Networks, CIFAR’s researchers are harnessing AI to address other critical issues in health care – including how to support Canada’s rapidly aging population.
In Canada, older adults make up the fastest-growing demographic. According to Statistics Canada, seniors living to age 85 and beyond may face a number of limitations and health challenges, which will put increasing pressure on all levels of government to ensure adequate support.
Goldie Nejat a Fellow in CIFAR’s Innovation, Equity & the Future of Prosperity program, aims to ease this pressure with socially assistive robots. These AI-powered robots are designed to provide cognitive and social interventions in long-term care homes, helping older adults with daily living activities and leading group recreational activities, from prepping meals to playing memory games to even scoring bingo cards.
“As we age, there is more chance of physical and cognitive impairment. Robots can revolutionize care and meet the growing demand and urgent need for caring for our aging population,” says Nejat, a Professor at the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering at the University of Toronto.
Her team focuses on developing intelligent socially assistive robots to help support individuals, improve their quality of life and well-being, and help promote independent living and aging-in-place. The robots can meet the care needs and wants of users, whether it’s older adults or caregivers.
“It is imperative to support caregivers as well due to the emotional, physical and psychological burden they experience,” Nejat explains.
In addition to elder-care applications, Nejat’s research focuses on developing intelligent mechanical, electrical and computational systems with applications in emergency response, search and rescue, retail, security and surveillance and manufacturing. Her work exemplifies how AI is accelerating gains in vastly diverse fields.
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