# Socially Assistive Robots in Smart Environments to Attend Elderly People--A Survey
## 3 The Use of SAR in AAL Ecosystems
### Robotic Platforms  
When analyzing the publications on the subject, the first of the points that can be highlighted is the diversity of robotic platforms used. Table 1 summarizes some examples, clustered into three main groups. One group includes platforms that are small in height and whose main advantage is their ability to display either facial or gestural emotions. One example is the previously mentioned Misty-II robot (Figure 2 (Left)). Other examples are the popular Nao [37; 38; 39] or LuxAI's QTRobot [40; 41; 42]. Figure 3 shows the external aspect of these two platforms. Aldebaran Robotics' Pepper robot was used by [PERSON] et al. [43] and [PERSON] [44]. This robot has a higher motor capacity, which allows it to move around the environment, and a larger size, which facilitates face-to-face interaction with the user. In general, they are emotional robots designed primarily to interact with people. They present hardware limitations when it comes to performing other tasks. For instance, it is common to deploy an external camera to increase the sensory capabilities of the Nao robot [39]. Figure 2: (**Left**) Misty-II robot, and (**right**) Temi robot. Source: Misty Robotics and Temi, 2024. Mobile platforms are more popular. In [PERSON] et al. [45]'s proposal, two robots are used to provide different services. One of them is a user-friendly robot built on a TurtleBot2 base. Its mission is to provide companionship to the elderly person, so it is designed to interact. The second, a Robotnik model RB-1 (Figure 4 (Left)), is larger, has arms and end-effectors (up to 13 degrees of freedom), and can perform household tasks. Although it is not very common to find robots deployed in these scenarios with the ability to manipulate, there are notable exceptions, such as PAL Robotics' TIAGo [46] or the Care-o-Bot [47]. In the ALMI project, the robot uses this ability to manipulate objects to assist a person with mild motor and cognitive impairments. [PERSON] et al. [48] describe two scenarios dedicated to the assistance of a frail person in a smart home equipped with a Kompai robot and smart objects (Figure 4 (Right)). This robot was also chosen by [PERSON] et al. [49] in the Domeo project, funded by the Ambient Assisted Living Joint Program of the European Union. In the MoveCare system [15], the Giraffe-X robot is deployed. The HOBBIT robot [50] provides autonomous navigation, a manipulator with a gripper, and a multi-modal user interface allowing interaction via speech, gesture, and touch screen. In the joint research project MORPHIA (Mobile Robotic Care Assistant to Improve Participation, Care, and Safety in Home Care through Video-based Relatives Network) [51], several platforms have \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{l l l} \hline \hline
**Type of Robot** & **Examples** & **Relevant Features** \\ \hline \multirow{4}{*}{Humanoid robots} & Misty-II & \\  & Nao & Emotional robots, designed for \\  & QTRobot & HRI \\  & Pepper & \\  & Hydodol & \\ \hline \multirow{4}{*}{Autonomous Mobile Platforms} & Robotnik RB-1 & Objects manipulation \\  & Kompai-2 robot & Designed for HRI \\  & Morphia & Social navigation \\  & TIAGo & Objects manipulation \\  & Giraffe-X & Telepresence robot \\  & Temi & Social navigation \\  & Care-o-Bot & Objects manipulation \\ \hline \multirow{4}{*}{Customized Platforms} & iAirBot & Indoor air quality monitoring \\  & TurtleBot & Intuitive user–machine interface \\  & Robotic wheeled walker & Help people to move in crowed \\  & Rolland & Smart wheel-chair robot \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 1: Examples of robotic platforms identified in the survey. Figure 3: (**Left**) Aldebaran’s Nao robot, and (**right**) LuxAI’s QTRobot. Source: Aldebaran and LuxAI, 2024.  
been developed [52]. Figure 5 shows the last version of the Morphia robot, developed by the company MetraLabs GmbH Neue Technologien und Systeme Ilmenau. As mentioned above, the design of the robot is closely linked to the tasks to be performed.