POST (Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology) has published an interesting note that reviews evidence on the impact of robotics on the costs and quality of social care and its workforce, and explores the main ethical, social and regulatory challenges to its use in social care. Full text here.

“According to the National Audit Office, between 2012 and 2020, the UK Government has, or plans to, invest over £300 million in RAS research. The European Commission is also investing €700 million between 2014-2020 in partnership with the robotics industry and academia, which is expected to yield a total investment of €2.8 billion.

It has been suggested that robotics can provide social and cognitive assistance to care receivers, as well as physical assistance to both caregivers and care receivers. Evidence on the effectiveness of this technology shows some positive findings, although the newness of the technology means that current research is limited. Questions have also been raised over the ethical, social and regulatory challenges to its use.”