RoboCoach HUGO

Project Key Data

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Full title of the project:
RoboCoach HUGO – A gamified social robotics demonstrator for coaching healthcare behavior change

Short name of the project:
Robocoach HUGO

Date of the award:
October 2021

Project duration:
9 months

Leading party:
ConnectedCare Services b.v.

Country:
The Netherlands

Company website: http://www.connectedcare.nl

Abstract

HUGO is a (physical) social robot coach that supports frail seniors in healthy living and behavior change. HUGO is designed to collaborate with healthcare professionals; the social robot and the healthcare professional team up and complement each other in supporting the senior. Current eHealth solutions are generally screen-based (apps, websites). Screen-based solutions are however mostly not well suited for (frail) seniors. Seniors experience barriers towards using screen-based applications, and health apps are not used on a regular basis. This is a missed opportunity, because digital solutions could potentially support seniors in improving their quality of life significantly. This TD project demonstrates the use of a physical social robot to support frail seniors in behavior change. The project partners are experienced in developing virtual coaches (avatars); this DIH-HERO project demonstrates the added value of a physical social robot in engaging the senior user group. As such, the robot coach will personalize interaction based on user state and context and will use the physical embodiment to strengthen the bond between senior and digital coach. Project partners aim to accelerate European-wide commercialization of HUGO and look forward to collaborate with the DIH innovation hubs and with other DIH projects, in order to improve the product and accelerate the route-to-market.