Robotic Therapy Pets Program

Missing your family pet? Check-out our robtic pets

We know a robot is no replacement for your family cat or dog. However, research has shown that interacting with a robotic pet has a similar soothing effect on the nervous system as interacting with the real animal. (And they are fun!)

The robotic pets are great company when you are studying, chilling, or need to deliberately create a quiet moment to help you clear your head so you can continue with your day.

Whether you are missing your family pet, looking for some kitty or puppy time, or just like robots, sign out one of our robotic therapy pets.

Features:

  • Cat: meows, purrs, twitches ears, opens and closes eyes, licks paw, rolls over. Comes with brush.
  • Golden retriever puppy: wags tail, opens and closes eyes, moves head to follow your voice, pants, barks.

Sounds can be turned off.

How they work:

Both the cat and the dog are equipped with sensors that respond to sound (voice) and touch. Sensors are locate on the top of the head and back. (Cat also has a sensor in its chest).

Simply talk to, pet, or brush the pet to make it respond. There is NO AI in this version of the pets.

For those who like the science stuff:

  • Robotic pets have been found to improve psychological outcomes including reduction in loneliness, stress, and anxiety in older adults with and without cognitive disorders (Banks, Willoughby, & Banks, 2008; Horstmann, 2023; Petersen, Houston, Qin, Tague, & Studley, 2017; Shoesmith, Surr, & Ratschen, 2023).
  • Social robotic interventions have been used in educational settings for children with neurodevelopmental disorders including Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) for developing and enhancing social and communication skills and improving engagement in learning activities (Azizi et al., 2022; Breazeal, Dautenhahn, & Kanda, 2016; Pivetti et al., 2020).
  • Preliminary studies in post-secondary settings have been promising (Edwards, et al., 2020; Geva, Uzefovsky& Levy-Tzedek, 2020).

How to find them:

  • Cambridge campus: Pets can be signed-out from the Musagetes Architecture Library
  • Waterloo campus: Pets can be signed-out from the Undergraduate office (E2 1772)

Golden Retriever Pup

robotic pet - golden retriever pup

Gray Cat

robotic pet - gray cat

Studies on Robotic Pets

Interested in knowing more about the impacts of robotic pets on well-being? Below are some previously completed studies.

  1. Barber, O., Somogyi, E., McBride, A.E. et al. Children’s Evaluations of a Therapy Dog and Biomimetic Robot: Influences of Animistic Beliefs and Social Interaction. Int J of Soc Robotics 13, 1411–1425 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12369-020-00722-0
  2. Edwards, A. P., Edwards, C., Abendschein, B., Espinosa, J., Scherger, J., and Vander Meer, P. F., Using Robot Animal Companions in the Academic Library to Mitigate Student Stress (2020). University Libraries Faculty & Staff Publications. 52. 10.1108/LHT-07-2020-0148
  3. Geva, N., Uzefovsky, F. & Levy-Tzedek, S. Touching the social robot PARO reduces pain perception and salivary oxytocin levels. Sci Rep 10, 9814 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-66982-y
  4. Takayanagi, K., Kirita, T., Shibata, T. Comparison of Verbal and Emotional Responses of Elderly People with Mild/Moderate Dementia and Those with Severe Dementia in Responses to Seal Robot, PARO. Front Aging Neurosci. 2014 Sep 26;6:257. doi: 10.3389/fnagi.2014.00257. PMID: 25309434; PMCID: PMC4176084.