Cyberdogs 'help older people'

Posted : 29-02-2008

Older people could benefit from keeping a robotic dog, according to a new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Directors Association that may be of interest to pet insurance holders.

The research by experts at Saint Louis University saw two dogs - Sparky, a real dog, and Aibo, a cyberdog - spend time with residents at three nursing homes.

Aibo was capable of interacting with humans in a similar way to Sparky by wagging its tail and through other behaviour.

The study found that Aibo was almost as effective in relieving loneliness among the residents in question as Sparky.

"For those people who can't have a living pet but who would like to have a pet, robotics could address the issue of companionship," commented William Banks, professor of geriatric medicine at Saint Louis University.

Aibo was first developed by Sony in the early 1990s and eventually led to the development of Qrio, a prototype humanoid robot.

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