Socially Assistive Robots for Interaction With Older Adults With Dementia

A 12-month pilot study will be comprised of two groups of people diagnosed with mild Alzheimer's disease and related dementia for a total of 80 senior subjects. Subjects will be randomly assigned to two groups: Group 1 users will play games with and administered by Ryan, 2-3 times a week and 30-minutes per day. Group 2 (Active Control Group) will play solitary games and activities but will have to interaction with Ryan. The team will measure the changes and improvement in the social/emotional well-being of these two groups and eventual changes in the cognitive/memory functions of elderly people living in the similar environment.