A study by St. Louis University has found that a lovable dog named Sparky and a robotic dog AIBO, were about equally effective at reducing the loneliness of nursing home residents. The study confirmed previous findings that dogs have a good effect on nursing home residents . Dr. Andrew Smith led the Stanford University teamat built a home-assistance robot. "If humans can feel an emotional tie with robots, some day they could be not just our assistants, but also our companions," he said. To test whether residents responded better to Sparky, a trained dog, or the Sony-made robotic dog, researchers divided 38 nursing home residents into three groups at three long-term care centers in St, Louis. One group had weekly 30-minute one-on-one visits with Sparky; another group had similar visits with AIBO; a control group had no contact with either dog.The groups' respective levels of loneliness were tested by having them answer a number of questions at the beginning and near the end of the visits. After two months, both groups that had contact with the dogs were less lonely and more attached. Most of the elderly regarded Sparky, a 9-year-old dog, as an audience for their life stories, said investigator Marian Banks. "He listened attentively, wagged his tail, and allowed them to pet him," said Banks, who adopted and trained Sparky after finding him in a street behind her home seven years ago. Those who were together with AIBO took a little longer to warm to the robotic creature.Over time, however, they grew comfortable with him, and petted and talked to him. He would respond by wagging his tail,  vocalizing , and blinking his lights. "AIBO is charming once you start to interact with him," said the study's author, Dr. William Banks, " He's an attractive sort of guy. He gives a feeling: of being personal, not just a robot. " What would be the best title for the passage?
Robots Serve People Better Than Thought No More Lonely Old Age with Emotional Robots Dogs equipped with robots to Help the Elderly Robots and Dogs Can Equally Cheer up the Elderly