RemBot
An innovative app supporting dementia care with smart tools for caregivers to monitor and engage patients effectively.
Health
Category
2024
Year
11 Weeks
Duration
NTU Masters
Platform
Project Overview
The RemBot Carer app is a complementary tool designed to work with the RemBot, a social assistance robot that provides specialized care for individuals with dementia. The app serves as a bridge for carers, offering essential features like noise detection, engagement tracking, reminiscence content management, and reminder alerts. This comprehensive approach aims to enhance the quality of care and support provided to dementia patients, empowering carers to stay connected and informed about their loved ones’ needs.
Research and Discovery
The foundational research for this project revolved around addressing the key challenges faced by carers of dementia patients, including social isolation, cognitive decline, and the increased burden on carers. Quantitative research highlighted that 69% of surveyed carers identified agitation and communication difficulties as major challenges. Additionally, insights gathered from qualitative interviews emphasized the need for more intuitive assistive technologies. Through a review of existing assistive devices, it was clear that most technologies lacked emotional engagement, which limited their effectiveness. This drove the focus toward creating a system that not only provides functional assistance but also connects emotionally with the user to reduce agitation and isolation.
Sound Recognition Feature
Design Process
The design approach followed a human-centered design framework coupled with Design Thinking principles. This included identifying user needs, exploring potential solutions through ideation, and iterative prototyping. The final design of the RemBot Carer app prioritized simplicity and intuitive interfaces, ensuring that users of varying technical abilities could navigate the app seamlessly.
Key steps in the design process included:
Persona Development: Creating personas to understand the dynamics between caregivers (e.g., adult children) and individuals with dementia.
Feature Integration: Developing core app functionalities such as noise detection for subtle monitoring, engagement tracking for interactive activities with the robot, and reminiscence content management.
UI/UX Iterations: Multiple rounds of UI/UX testing were conducted to ensure that the app’s interface would be accessible, user-friendly, and effective in daily use
User Flow
User Journey Map
User Testing
User testing was crucial in validating the RemBot Carer app’s functionality and usability. Participants, including both dementia carers and healthcare professionals, provided feedback on the app's key features, particularly the engagement tracking and reminders system. Testing highlighted the importance of a minimal, distraction-free interface, which was then refined through several iterations. The user feedback revealed that carers found the reminiscence therapy content management feature particularly effective in sparking positive interactions and memories for individuals with dementia. Adjustments were made to ensure that old photos and music files could be easily uploaded and managed within the app, providing a more personalized experience.
Solving UX Problems
Outcome and Results
The RemBot Carer app successfully met its core objectives of providing an assistive technology that not only aids in care but also promotes emotional engagement. Carers reported improvements in the ease of managing daily care tasks, with the noise detection and reminders proving particularly helpful for monitoring and ensuring routine care. The app, when paired with RemBot, enhanced overall caregiver satisfaction by reducing stress levels associated with constant vigilance. The project demonstrated a positive impact on both the dementia patients' cognitive engagement and the carers' ability to manage care, ultimately contributing to improved quality of life for both parties.
Reflection
The primary challenge encountered during the project was balancing technological complexity with user accessibility. While advanced AI and noise detection were crucial to the app’s function, ensuring that the interface remained simple and easy to use was a critical focus. Additionally, concerns about privacy, particularly related to noise monitoring, were addressed by implementing clear guidelines and optional user permissions. Moving forward, future development will focus on enhancing the app's AI capabilities for more personalized care and integrating additional sensors for real-time health monitoring without compromising user privacy.
