Paro, He's Anything But Your Average Pet Seal

For the past year my grandmother has been living with us because she can no longer live on her own. As an 88 year old women who is suffering from a severe case of dementia it is hard to imagine what she has been going through. Dementia is defined as a condition in which there is a gradual loss of brain function; it is a decline in cognitive/intellectual functioning. The main symptoms are usually loss of memory, confusion, problems with speech and understanding, changes in personality and behavior and an increased reliance on others for the activities of daily living (Royal College of Psychiatrists). It is not a disease in itself but rather a group of symptoms which may result from age, brain injury, disease, vitamin or hormone imbalance, or drugs or alcohol. A person with dementia may also exhibit changes in mood, personality or behavior.

Some days she seems happy and pleasant to be around then others she is angry, combative, and confused. The one thing I have noticed from my interaction with her is that she tends to fixate on particular animals she sees in pictures or stuffed animals that her great grandchildren bring over when they visit. Seeing someones understanding of everyday things start to diminish was, and still is, difficult to witness. Her fixation of the stuffed animals reminded me of a segment I had watched a few years ago about this revolutionary therapy break through that was introduced to elderly people, Paro. The idea behind this cybernetic "pet" baby seal is to have positive effects on the mental health of some elderly people.

There have been studies done in nursing homes in Japan as well as the United States and around the world, that show the benefits of Paro. Paro is an advanced interactive robot developed by a leading Japanese industrial automation pioneer. It allows the documented benefits of animal therapy to be administered to patients in environments such as hospitals and extended care facilities where live animals present treatment or logistical difficulties. This seal pup had been found to reduce patient stress and their care givers, stimulate interaction between patients and caregivers, and it has been shown to have a psychological effect on patients, improving their relaxation and motivation. Paro also seems to improve the socialization of patients with each other and with caregivers and it has been deemed the World's Most Therapeutic Robot certified by Guinness World Records.

Paro has five kinds of sensors: tactile, light, audition, temperature, and posture sensors, with which it can perceive people and its environment. Paro can recognize light and dark, can feel being stroked and beaten by tactile sensor, or being held by the posture sensor. Paro can also recognize the direction of voice and words such as its name, greetings, and praise with its audio sensor. This robotic seal pup can learn to behave in a way that the user prefers, and to respond to its new name if given one. For example, if you stroke it every time you touch it, Paro will remember your previous action and try to repeat that action to be stroked. If you hit it, Paro remembers its previous action and tries not to repeat it. With these abilities Paro can respond as if it were alive. Its head and legs move, it makes sounds, and is able to show the owners preferred behavior. With all of these impressive functions Paro's price tag is just around $4,000. I wonder , however, if the "pet" robots whose target consumer audience is children, not to mention much more affordable, would or could help lower stress levels, comfort people to an extent, or help with communication even with out all the sensory abilities that Paro has?

Caitlin Lavin