Driven by the rapidly increasing diagnosis rates of developmental disorders within children and the COVID-19 pandemic, a new technology has begun to gain traction. Socially assistive robots, or SARS, are making their way into education and healthcare as they support educators, caregivers, and healthcare workers in addressing demands in a post-pandemic world.

SARS, standing for socially assistive robots, does as the name suggests: they are humanoid robots that focus on assisting users through social rather than physical interactions to achieve measurable progress in rehabilitation and learning. This growing field of assistive technology has only grown more valuable in recent years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and has since played a major role in supporting various demographics in need of care, including children and the elderly.

Child Care and Education 

Improvements in the identification of autism, particularly in marginalized communities, have led to a significant rise in autism prevalence estimates of children: in 2000, the rate in children aged 8 years old was 1 in 150, but by 2018, the rate had increased to 1 in 44. While this progress allows for individuals with autism to get the specialized interventions and therapies needed to improve their developmental outcomes earlier on in life, it has also called attention to the growing challenges of the understaffing of special education programs and a lack of resources to meet the needs of these children. 

SARS can help by providing personalized support to children with autism, helping them develop cognitive and social skills to enhance their learning experience. By providing children with an emotionally intelligent companion that’s capable of social interaction, children with ASD (autism spectrum disorder) can learn to recognize and imitate social patterns into their own life. The growing field has led to the development of many robots such as QTrobot, Nao, and Milo, with universities like USC also launching projects to advance SARS for children. 

Research shows that SARS can play a valuable role in remote instruction, as it offers multiple advantages over traditional, virtual teaching systems, such as incorporating more physical interaction and social engagement into the curriculum, with users showing notable improvement in learning gains. For children and adults facing social distancing, robotic tutoring offers a practical alternative for children with autism and those who struggle with working in front of a computer for long periods. Positive social interactions are crucial for children’s education, and SARS provides that amid growing demands in the industry. 

Elderly Care 

On a similar note, the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the issue of staffing shortages at nursing homes, with the average total direct care staffing each week dropping nearly 13% from 2020 to 2022. The usage of SARS can offset these shortages, providing a semblance of social interaction for the elderly who are in these isolated settings, and helping caregivers in certain tasks around the homes. The presence of these robots has already begun to show positive results. Research shows that SARS can be effective in supporting individuals with dementia by reducing agitation, improving socialization, alleviating feelings of loneliness and depression in older adults, and promoting mobility and exercise, which helps prevent falls and motivate individuals during sessions. 

The healthcare industry also saw the increased implementation of SARS for autonomous health screening to keep residents and staff safe by reducing the transmission of viruses with the minimizing of person-to-person contact. Being easy to decontaminate and well-suited for repetitive tasks, a common administrative burden to healthcare workers, more and more health facilities are testing SARS as a potential new part of their workforce. Studies regarding staff overall experiences with the robot show that most staff demonstrate satisfaction with the technology, including administrators, nurses, personal support workers (PSWs), and rehabilitation and social care (SRC) workers. 

Despite challenges in securing funding for these projects and implementing them in real-world settings, SARS has already demonstrated its usefulness and will continue to become more beneficial in the coming years.