Telepresence Robot Project
Using mobile robots to reduce loneliness and social isolation for older adults in long-term care.
About
Social isolation is a significant issue in aged care settings. Long-term care (LTC) and hospitals are associated with adverse outcomes such as reduced well-being and loneliness in older adults. Loneliness has been shown to be linked to depression, cognitive decline, and mortality. .
With the rates of social isolation having increased among the older adult population during the COVID-19 pandemic, our mitigation efforts are focusing on the use of robotics to help reduce loneliness, and social isolation, and improve quality of life.
The use of mobile telepresence robots helps to enable individuals in different locations to interact with each other from a distance, near or far. Our research results will offer practical guidelines for the safe implementation and ethical use of the robot in LTC homes.
A closer look at one of our key papers.
This review includes 33 articles that met the inclusion criteria. We identified three barriers to AI-enabled robot adoption:
- Perceived technical complexity and limitation
- Negative impact, doubted usefulness, and ethical concerns
Strategies to mitigate these barriers were also explored:
- Accommodate the various needs of residents and health care providers
- Increase the understanding of the benefits of using robots
- Review and overcome the safety issues
- Boost interest in the use of robots and provide training
To learn more, check out the full article →
More Papers
- Working with a robot in hospital and long-term care homes: staff experience (Read)
- Telepresence Robots in Long-Term Care Settings in British Columbia During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Analyzing the Experiences of Residents and Family Members (Read)
- The perceptions of university students on technological and ethical risks of using robots in long-term care homes (Read)
- Facilitators and barriers to using telepresence robots in aged care settings: A scoping review (Read)
- Using telepresence robots as a tool to engage patient and family partners in dementia research during COVID-19 pandemic: a qualitative participatory study (Read)
- Staff’s Attitudes towards the Use of Mobile Telepresence Robots in Long-Term Care Homes in Canada (Read)
Global News
AMI: Accessible Media Channel
CTV News
City News
CHEOS UBC
Vancouverisawesome
Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute
AI-ROBOT: Strategies to Support Health Care Providers in Adopting AI-Enabled Robots in LTC.
More from the project
Sharing our findings with researchers, clinicians, and the community.
- 2021Canadian Association on Gerontology
- 202131st Alzheimer Europe Conference
- 202217th Annual ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction
- 2022West Coast Conference on Aging
- 2025Oral presentation – PATHS to a Cure
- 2025Oral presentation – Edwin S.H. Leong Centre for Healthy Aging Research Day
Our oral presentation on the Telepresence Robot Project at PATHS to a Cure, 2025.
Presenting at the Edwin S.H. Leong Centre for Healthy Aging’s first Research Day, 2025.
Engagement
Our team has participated in multiple information sessions, and even reached out for help over social media. Knitters in the community came together to help create telepresence robot “cozies”, reducing the brightness of the robot’s light for staff and residents at our sites.
To help spread the word, we’ve also created mugs, reusable tote bags, and training materials including information packages and YouTube videos on introducing the robot and how it works. Our staff champions and research team members even got involved in a Halloween trick-or-treat session.
We are a team of unique individuals who share values towards working together to improve dementia care. Our multi-disciplinary team includes students, researchers, frontline staff, leadership, community partners, field experts, families, and people with lived experience.
The research team works closely with a Public Advisory Committee (PAC), which provides input and influences decision-making for the whole project, actively joining in planning and taking action to address challenges.
