Development of Brain Training Games for a Healthcare Service Robot for Older People

Many people suffer from memory loss as they get older. This may lead to severe memory conditions, where everyday communication and activities for a person become much more difficult and independent living is a challenge. Brain training is one therapeutic method for people who are concerned about brain function decline. We previously found that brain training games are helpful and enjoyable for older people. In this paper, we describe the development of new computer-based brain training games based on paper-based brain training exercises created by experts on brain function. We develop four games targeting specific areas of memory, prospective memory, face recognition skills, verbal memory, and short-term memory. These games are deployed on our healthcare service robot, which is used in an individual home environment. We report a usability study with older adults to evaluate our brain training games on a healthcare service robot. Results show the games are usable and people responded positively about them, and some improvements were identified for future development.