With the proportion of elderly people on the rise, the incidence of dementia is also likely to follow. This article summarizes a study of the use of a robotic companion animal as a means of stimulating social interaction in elderly dementia patients, finding robotic companion animals to be viable alternatives to live animal visitations.

Long term care facilities that house senior residents with dementia are sometimes reluctant to include animal assisted therapy in their facilities due to concerns about infection, injury, animal care, or cleanliness. This study analyzed responses of dementia patients to AIBO, Sony’s robotic dog, to determine if a robotic dog could effectively be used within animal assisted therapy programs.

Compared with dementia patients’ interactions with live dogs, those who interacted with the AIBO induced longer looks, were more conversational with other residents about the experience, and ultimately showed a positive source of social interaction. This research suggests that robotic dogs may present a viable alternative to live animal visitations.