Improving quality of life with a narrative companion

A central component of the human self is the narrative history of shared interactions with others, which provides the foundation for social relations that develop over extended time. The loss of this narrative self progressively becomes catastrophic for aging subjects with degenerative disease of the memory system. A prosthetic device for narrative memory can provide an at least temporary solution to this problem. We identify requirements for a narrative memory capability that can allow individuals with diminished memory to continue to interact socially with partners with whom they have shared experiences. A memory prosthetic should provide access to past memories of the subject, and should accompany the subject in the formation, organization and retrieval of new memories. Based on these requirements, we have implemented the V1.0 narrative memory companion on the Pepper humanoid robot using the native Choregraph and NAOqi system capabilities. We exploit principals developed in our research in autobiographical memory and the organization of experience in cooperative humanoid robots, and the mapping of narrative structure onto this experience. In the narrative companion, past memories are first collected from the subject or members of their entourage via a template-based interview, and a small number of photographs that illustrate important people and events in the subject's past. New memories constructed via interaction with Pepper, and by simple narratives told by the human partner, are stored in the Autobiographical Memory (ABM) implemented in the ALKnolwedge base of the NAOqi system. Memories are then recalled and shared by narrative. Results from a naïve case study are presented, and future applications for improved quality of life are discussed.