Social support agents for older adults: longitudinal affective computing in the home
Loneliness and social isolation are significant problems in older adult populations. We describe the design of a multimodal conversational agent-based system designed to provide longitudinal social support to isolated older adults. Results from a requirements analysis study and a remote Wizard-of-Oz study are presented that inform the design of the autonomous social support agent. An exploratory pilot study was conducted in which the agent was placed in the homes of 14 older adults for a week. Results indicate high levels of acceptance and satisfaction of the system. Results also indicate that when the agent proactively draws elders into interactions, triggered by a motion sensor, it is more effective at addressing loneliness than when the agent passively relies upon elders to initiate interactions. We discuss future research opportunities for affective computing to address this important societal problem.
older adults affective computing eca social interfaces