Exploiting personal memories in humanoid robot serious games for mild cognitive impaired older adults

The use of humanoid robots in older adult training has recently started to be considered. We investigated a solution that offers serious games personalised to each individual, to stimulate more interest and participation in cognitive training. In particular, we have studied how to consider personal memories in customising humanoid robot games for Mild Cognitive Impaired (MCI) older adults. For this goal, a prototype platform for collecting and exploiting personal memories in associated games is presented. The memories are exploited by six games designed and implemented in a Pepper robot considering current practices. We report on a mixed-method study consisting of a two-phase trial that involved 15 MCI older adults. The participants first furnished some memories from their past, and then used two game versions regularly for twelve weeks, one personalised and one with general content. We collected both quantitative (through questionnaires and interaction log analysis) and qualitative feedback. The results provide useful information about the robot games’ impact on users and, more generally, for understanding how to introduce robot games based on personal memories in cognitive training programmes.