Andriana BoyrikovaAt present, there are 250, 000 people in the Netherlands who suffer from dementia and their number is expected to double by 2040. However, speed dating with Tessa, a small talking robot designed by Tinybots, is taking a step further in the care of people with dementia.
For the last one year Tinybots has been developing Tessa – a small talking robot designed to help people with dementia. Tessa does this by giving them daily reminders and suggestions and playing personal music. This way, the families of people with dementia don’t need to turn into “walking calendars” who have to repeat the same thing hundred times a day, Wang Long Li, CEO of Tinybots, explains.
By organizing a speed dating with robots at the De Nacht van Kunst & Wetenschap in Groningen, the team of Tinybots tried to further improve Tessa. The goal was to find out what kind of person liked what kind of personality, so they could evaluate and conclude what personality should be developed for the four different types of Tessa.
All enthusiasts who were queueing to speed date with Tessa had a one-minute conversation with each of the four Tessa robots. After that, they had to fill out a form which robot they liked and why.
But how can Tessa help people with dementia? Watch my interview with the CEO of Tessa to find out:
The filming of the video was made in collaboration with Kalina Tekelieva.
