Date: Tuesday, May 13, 2025 11:15 AM- Tuesday, May 13, 2025 12:15 PM
Location: RESNA 2025 @ RehabWeek Sheraton Chicago Riverside Chicago, Illinois
Lead/Instructor: Myung-Joon Lim and Won-Kyung Song, National Rehabilitation Center, Korea; Stephen Potter, University of Sheffield, United Kingdom; Jon Sanford, Georgia State University, United States; Luc de Witte, The Hague University of Applied Sciences, The Netherlands
Session Track: International

Abstract: Many countries around the world are turning to technologies such as care robotics to address the resourcing challenges presented by aging societies, to extend care services, and to provide greater independence to people with disabilities and long-term health conditions. In 2019, we hosted a symposium at RESNA titled “Care Robots in Asia, Europe, and North America – A Multicultural Perspective.” In our 2025 60-minute, interdisciplinary, general session, we invite the audience to join us in a discussion of: the progress that has been made in the past six years; the changing global landscape of care needs and service user expectations; technological advances and barriers to overcome; and current prospects for a feasible, viable and valuable care robotics. The session will culminate with an ambitious attempt to co-produce that encapsulates the key challenges and recommended directions of care robotics over the next 6 years and beyond: the First RESNA Care Robotics Communique.

Learning Outcomes: “Describe” recent advancements and projects in care robotics across the U.S., U.K., the Netherlands, and South Korea, with a particular focus on how these innovations address aging populations and assistive technology needs. “Identify” key challenges and technological barriers within the field of care robotics and assess their impact on the development and implementation of assistive solutions. “Evaluate” the evolving expectations of care recipients and their caregivers in relation to care robotics and articulate how these expectations influence design and deployment in assistive technology. “Collaborate” in the creation of a collective, forward-looking declaration on care robotics, outlining strategic priorities and recommendations that align with the anticipated needs of the field for the next six years and beyond. “Apply” insights gained from the session to guide their own work in assistive technology, incorporating current trends, challenges, and international perspectives on care robotics. 

These outcomes provide a robust framework for engaging AT professionals, equipping them with actionable knowledge to enhance their practice and contribute meaningfully to the future of care robotics and other emerging assistive technologies.