ROBOWELL Robot as Welfare Technologies and Actors for Elderly Care: A Nordic Model for Integration of Advanced Assistive Technologies

This project aims to develop a proposal for a Nordic Model for integrating social and assistive robots as welfare technologies and actors in elderly care, addressing challenges posed by the aging population and the shortage of nursing staff across Nordic countries. Previous research in the Nordic region's welfare tradition illustrates the use of welfare technologies like fall alarms, cameras, tablets, and computers. However, more complex welfare technologies such as AI-driven technologies, including social and assistive robots might challenge the current practical, ethical, and legal existing infrastructures, or models around the integration of welfare technologies in the care systems for elderly people. The project is planned to take place within Norway (project leader, University of Oslo), Denmark (University of Southern-Denmark), and Sweden (Royal Institute of Technology), together with relevant stakeholders.

TIAGo from Pal Robotics Hospitbot, SDU, Denmark Furhat from Furhat Robotics (Photo credit: Diana Saplacan Lindblom, own archive)

Photos (left to right): TIAGo from Pal Robotics at UiO (Photo Credit: Diana Saplacan Lindblom, own archive); HospiBot from SDU Denmark (Photo Credit: SDU; and Furhat from Furhat Robotics (Photo credit: Diana Saplacan Lindblom, own archive)

Contact

Researcher Diana Saplacan Lindblom Robotics and Intelligent Systems Research group, University of Oslo Consortium Leader (Norway, Sweden, Denmark) & PI Norway
Prof. Jim Torresen Robotics and Intelligent Systems Research Group and RITMO Centre of Excellence, University of Oslo Technical Leader (Norway)

Objective 1: Conduct Cross-country User Studies on the Integration of Welfare Robots within the Elderly Care Systems (User studies)

Objective 2: Mapping Benefits and Tensions Across Technical, Ethical and Regulatory Aspects (Technical, Ethical and Regulatory Aspects)

Objective 3: Assess the Impact of Robots on Elderly Care Workflows (Work tasks and workflow)

Objective 4: Develop a proposal for a Nordic Model for Sustainable Robot Integration in Elderly Care (Proposal of a Nordic Model)

Research questions:

RQ1: What are the key enablers and barriers to the sustainable integration of welfare robots into elderly care across different care settings in the participating Nordic countries, and how do elderly individuals and their caregivers perceive these technologies?

RQ2: Which technical, ethical and/or regulatory challenges must be addressed to ensure that welfare robots align with fundamental rights such as privacy, autonomy, dignity, and informed consent in elderly care?

RQ3: To what extent does the integration of welfare robots impact elderly care workflows, including caregivers' tasks, workload, and professional roles, and in what ways can these technologies be introduced to enhance efficiency without interrupting care practices?

RQ4: How can a Nordic Model for integrating welfare robots in elderly care be designed to align with the practical, legal, and ethical needs of each (participating) country while ensuring their implementation in the care systems ensures a sustainable and ethically responsible future for elderly care systems?

Participants

Diana Saplacan University of Oslo Consortium Leader (Norway, Sweden, Denmark) and PI (Norway)
Jim Tørresen University of Oslo Consortium Technical Leader
Adel Baselizadeh University of Oslo Technical Leader (Norway)
Ass. Prof. Sanna Kuoppamäki KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden PI KTH, Sweden
Assoc. Leon Bodenhagen The Maersk Mc-Kinney Moller Institute, University of Southern Denmark (SDU), Denmark PI SDU, Denmark
Assoc. Prof. Oskar Palinko The Maersk Mc-Kinney Moller Institute, University of Southern Denmark (SDU), Denmark Technical Leader, SDU, Denmark
Linda Sørensen, OT, PhD Centre for Research and Education – Sunnaas Rehabilitation Cluster, Sunnaas Rehabilitation Hospital Norwegian stakeholder organization
Contact Diakonveien Omsorg+, Oslo, Norway Norwegian stakeholder organization
Contact The reality lab (sw. Verklighetslabbet), at City of Stockholm, Sweden Swedish stakeholder organization
Contact Odense University Hospital (OUH), Odense, Denmark Danish stakeholder organization
Senior Research Scientist Trenton Schulz Applied Research in Information and Communcation Technology, Norwegian Computing Center (NR) Member of Advisory Board
Assoc. Prof. Yueh-Hsuan Weng Inamori Frontier Program, Institute for Advanced Study (IAS), Kyushu University AND Frontier Research Institute for Interdisciplinary Sciences (FRIS), Tohoku University AND Working Group Chair IEEE P7017 (Visitng Scientist at RIKEN Center for Advanced Intelligence Project until March 2026) Member of Advisory Board
Assoc. Prof. Leonora Onarheim Bergsjø Norwegian Council on Digital Ethics (NORDE) AND Ostfold AI Hub at Ostfold University College, Norway, AND University of Agder, Norway Member of Advisory Board