A student is exploring how robots can offer comfort to care home residents – and investigating whether they can be made affordable for small budgets.   

As part of a project that promotes the use of technology to enhance quality of care, Hannah Bradwell from the University of Plymouth, has visited care homes throughout Cornwall with Paro the seal, a Japanese-designed robot that moves and responds to touch.

The product is the most thoroughly researched of its kind and designed as a comfort for people in care homes, particularly those with dementia, but it costs more than £5,000. So Hannah is investigating what residents like about Paro and comparing this engagement with other interactive robots to assess whether more affordable and equally effective alternatives can be designed.

See more on this story in Friday’s Cornish Times.