• Journal of the Korea Society of Computer and Information
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• v.28 no.12
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• pp.33-40
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• 2023

As South Korea enters the realm of an super-aging society, the demand for elderly welfare services has been steadily rising. However, the current shortage of welfare personnel has emerged as a social issue. To address this challenge, there is active research underway on elderly care robots designed to mitigate the social isolation of the elderly and provide emergency contact capabilities in critical situations. Nonetheless, these functionalities require direct user contact, which represents a limitation of conventional elderly care robots. In this paper, we propose a solution to overcome these challenges by introducing a care robot system capable of interacting with users without the need for direct physical contact. This system leverages commercialized elderly care robots and cameras. We have equipped the care robot with an edge device that incorporates facial expression recognition and action recognition models. The models were trained and validated using public available data. Experimental results demonstrate high accuracy rates, with facial expression recognition achieving 96.5% accuracy and action recognition reaching 90.9%. Furthermore, the inference times for these processes are 50ms and 350ms, respectively. These findings affirm that our proposed system offers efficient and accurate facial and action recognition, enabling seamless interaction even in non-contact situations.

• Proceedings of the Korea Information Processing Society Conference
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• 2023.11a
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• pp.978-979
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• 2023

시각 장애인들은 식품의 영양 정보 표시 부재로 인해 식품 섭취에 어려움을 겪고 있는 상황이며, 전국 등록 장애인 수는 고령화와 함께 지속적으로 증가하는 추세이다. 이에 따른 돌봄 인력 부족 및 돌봄 예산 증가가 예상되고 있다. 이러한 배경을 고려하여, 본 논문에서는 시각 장애인들에게 영양을 고려한 식자재를 제공하기 위한 과채류 수확 로봇을 개발하고 제공함으로써, 과채류 섭취 부족 문제와 돌봄 인력 부족 문제를 해결하는 것을 목표로 한다. 특히, 본 제품은 사용자의 편의성을 고려하여 음성 인식 기능을 도입하고, 사용자의 요구사항에 따른 권장 섭취량을 기반으로 수확 및 자율주행 배달 서비스를 제공한다.

• The Journal of Korea Robotics Society
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.103-109
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• 2022

The purpose of this study is to ethical review on the development and service with care assistance robot. An integrative review concept analysis method was used. We analyzed the classification and role of service robots, the concept of the robot ethic and the care ethic. And there were derived the development and service about care assistance robot in ethical viewpoint. For improving current care problem, government had support to developing four types care assistance robots. But there were provided carefully care service due to the limitations of robot technology and lack of overall social awareness with care robot. In addition, in order to be successfully application in the field, care assistance robots were developed to provide high-quality care service that can consider to personal culture and living environment with the development of artificial intelligence and robot technology, as well as ethical care service.

• Proceedings of the Korea Information Processing Society Conference
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• 2023.11a
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• pp.149-150
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• 2023

반려동물이 혼자 있는 시간이 많아지면 분리불안, 우울증, 이식증 등 질병이 생기기 때문에 이것을 방지하기 위해 보호자가 외부에 있어도 혼자 있는 반려동물을 돌보기 위한 앱이다. 플러터로 다중플랫폼 앱을 개발하였고 기능에는 원격 조작, 건강 상태 진단, 자동 급식, 청소, 놀이, 실시간 모니터링 기능이 포함되어 있다. 아두이노와 통신을 위한 flutter Blue 패키지를 사용하였다. 반려동물 돌봄 로봇은 아두이노와 블루투스 모듈을 활용하여 스마트폰 앱에서 조작 가능한 Caterpillar 모바일 로봇을 활용하였다. 이 연구의 목적은 반려동물과 보호자에게 편의성 제공을 목표로 한다.

• Proceedings of the Korea Information Processing Society Conference
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• 2022.11a
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• pp.687-688
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• 2022

기존 언어치료는 언어발달장애 아동과 언어치료사간의 대면 방식으로 이루어지며, 이때 각종 언어치료도구가 사용된다. 본 시스템은 언어발달장애 아동과 로봇 간의 언어치료를 위해서, 센서를 통한 아동 이동 접근 확인, 아동 얼굴 검출, 아동 얼굴 인식, 아동 얼굴 감정 인식, 아동 얼굴 추적, 감정 돌봄 대화 출력, 언어치료 콘텐츠 표시, 음성대화를 통한 언어치료 수행이 어떻게 적용되는지 개념을 설명하고자 한다.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.511-523
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• 2022

This study was conducted using non-face-to-face care technology for the elderly with mild dementia and the physically weak living in the community, as various methods of care for the elderly have been raised due to the prolonged COVID-19. The purpose of this study is a similar experimental study before and after the inequality control group to compare cognitive function, daily living activities, and the degree of depression by applying an AI robot integrated management program using. The data was collected from June 4 to September 17, 2021, and the survey results of 17 people in the experimental group and 18 in the control group were analyzed using the SPSS 25.0 program. As a result of the study, the experimental group was significant in language function, activities of daily living, and depression. In particular, the results showed a decrease in moderate to severe depression and mild depression. Cognitive function was significant with long-term care grade and daily living activity with family living together. Therefore, if such non-face-to-face care technology is introduced to the elderly care field in the 'With Corona era', it is thought that it will contribute to cognitive function training and depression reduction of the elderly.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.455-462
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• 2022

This study was conducted to find ways to utilize human-centered IT in caring for elderly people who live alone. Through focus group interviews with experts, this study investigated the problems with delivery system, and ethical issues. Problems such as lack of trust, supplier-centered care, and uniform service provision were derived as major problems in the delivery system. These findings indicate that IT should be used as an auxiliary means of face-to-face services and to be controllable and convenient. Issues such as "guaranteeing the right to self-determination," "protecting privacy," "sufficiently guaranteeing the right to know," and "encompassing blind spots" were raised as important ethical issues related to human-centered IT utilization. Based on the research results, this study presented the necessity of designing user-centered information technology and the necessity of developing ethical indicators for the use of human-centered technology.

• The Journal of the Institute of Internet, Broadcasting and Communication
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.23-28
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• 2024

This study focuses on investigating and exploring solutions to problems related to the increase in the elderly population in modern society where aging is rapidly progressing. With the advent of an aging society the elderly population requires more attention and support. In response companies are attempting to provide elder care services using AI and robotic technology. These services can assist seniors not only with health management and daily life care but also with emotional health aspects. This paper analyzes various elder-related technologies available in the current market investigates their pros and cons and potential for development. The paper concludes that companies need to develop and provide more AI and robot-based elder care services to solve aging problems. Such services can alleviate social and emotional issues in an aging society enhancing the quality of life for seniors.

• The Journal of Korea Robotics Society
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.392-402
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• 2023

The purpose of this study was to conduct an exploratory and descriptive survey study design to examine 1) the physical difficulty by care task, 2) overall occupation-related physical burden by the characteristics of caregivers and care receivers, and 3) the level of help by the use of care robots and devices among formal caregivers working in facilities for older adults. In this study, 308 formal caregivers working in facilities were recruited from 8 nursing homes and 5 geriatric hospitals between Aug. 2021 and Sept. 2022 in South Korea. There were significant differences in ADLs between nursing homes and geriatric hospitals: eating, dressing, hygiene, transfer to bed, transfer to the toilet and walking. For each care item, the items the caregivers had the most difficulty ranked first were bathing, excretion assistance, and mobility support. The difference in occupation-related physical burden according to general characteristics was found to have statistically significant differences in female and bad perceived health. Among the 205 caregivers who had experience using care robots and devices, pressure ulcer prevention was the most experienced one, and those also were the most helpful and exercise aids were the least helpful. In order to reduce the physical burden on care providers, it is necessary to develop and introduce a care robots centered on the care site. Furthermore, national level public support systems are required to enable facilities to actively utilize care robots and devices.

• The Journal of Korea Robotics Society
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.403-408
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• 2023

In this paper, we introduce the results of the development of a care robot for the safe lifting and transportation of bedridden patients with difficulty moving by themselves, especially, in medical facilities. The purpose of the developed patient transfer robot is to improve the convenience of care givers and enhance the safety and comfort of care recipients by facilitating patient lifting and patient transfer tasks by applying robot technology. In order to implement the lifting function, a hoist was designed and developed, and a sway control and rollover warning system were included in the hoist module as product differentiators. In addition, in terms of implementing the transfer function, an omnidirectional movement mechanism to improve operability in confined spaces and an active safety system to prevent collisions were developed. The function of the developed patient transfer robot was verified through performance evaluation by an authorized testing agency.