A Randomized Controlled Trial of Robotic Support for Enhanced Well-being(RoSEW)

Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine

Status: Active, not recruiting

Conditions: Loneliness; Well-Being, Psychological

Treatments: Device: Proactive Robotic Support for Enhanced Well-Being; Device: Passive Robotic Support for Enhanced Well-Being

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT07102017

school (Other Identifier)

L20250617

Details and patient eligibility

About

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if companion robots can improve well-being for older adults in long-term care. We will test two ways of using the same LOVOT robot:

• A quiet mode (sits still, responds only to touch)
• An active mode (moves around, initiates interactions)
• A no-robot group (regular activities)

The main questions we aim to answer are:

• Does spending time with the active robot enhance well-being (e.g. lower loneliness and depression) more than the quiet robot or no robot?
• How do these robots affect mood and quality of life? Researchers will compare these three groups to see if robot interactions contribute to enhancing participants' well-being.

Participants will:

• Spend time with a quiet robot or an active robot or no robot five days per week for 1 month
• answer offline survey questions about their well-being status every week

Enrollment: 60 estimated patients

Sex: All

Ages: 55+ years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Permanent residents of the senior care center, aged 55 or above.
• Be able to communicate clearly and capable of self-care.
• Voluntarily participate and sign an informed consent form.

Exclusion criteria

• Having absolutely no prior experience with technological devices whatsoever;
• Exhibiting unclear expression and lacking self-care ability;
• Having severe visual or auditory impairments that prevent completing questionnaires or participating in interviews;
• Elderly residents deemed unsuitable for inclusion by the nursing staff.

Trial design

Primary purpose: Health Services Research

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Triple Blind

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60 participants in 3 patient groups

Experimental passive robot group

Experimental group

Description:

In this setup, the robot remains stationary with proactive features disabled. It provides gentle vibrations/purring when touched and subtle eye responses to nearby movement. Use it as a social demand-free tactile comfort object for 20-30 minutes/day, 5 days/week during unstructured time.

Treatment:

Device: Passive Robotic Support for Enhanced Well-Being

Experimental proactive robot group

Experimental group

Description:

In this arm, the robot operates autonomously: it moves freely, approaches people, and follows individuals. It proactively initiates eye contact, seeks physical proximity, and responds to voices with sounds (coos/beeps) and head tilts. Use it as a social catalyst promoting reciprocity for 20-30 minutes/day, 5 days/week during unstructured time.

Treatment:

Device: Proactive Robotic Support for Enhanced Well-Being

Control

No Intervention group

Description:

Staff-led social activities (e.g., board games).