Description of socially assistive robots used in included studies
| Robot | Description | Number used in respective roles | |||||
| Affective therapy | Cognitive training | Social facilitation | Companionship | Physiological therapy | Total | ||
| AIBO | A non-verbal, dog-like robot with a metallic appearance and the ability of sight, walking and interpreting commands. AIBO can learn, mature and, on human interaction, express emotional responses. | – | 1 | 2 | 2 | – | 4 |
| Bandit | A humanoid robot mounted on a wheeled base. Bandit can speak, gesticulate and make facial expressions. | – | 1 | – | – | – | 1 |
| CuDDler | A robotic teddy bear able to move its neck, arms and eyelids. CuDDler moves its limbs and vocally interacts. CuDDler can respond appropriately to the pattern and type of touch. | 1 | – | – | – | – | 1 |
| Jack and Sophie | Sophie and Jack are communication robots that are capable of facial recognition, emotion recognition, vocalisation, gestures, emotive expressions, singing and dancing. | – | – | 1 | – | – | 1 |
| JustoCat | A non-verbal, cat-like robot with replaceable fur and similar proportions and weight to a real cat. JustoCat is capable of breathing, purring and meowing and is designed to sit on a persons lap and respond to stroking. | 1 | – | – | – | – | 1 |
| Mero | A humanoid head mounted on a base, capable of head motion, facial expressions and speech. | – | 1 | – | – | – | 1 |
| NAO | A humanoid robot, 58 cm tall, capable of walking, speech, gesticulation and dance. NAO is able to interact with people and can develop new skills and become personalised. | 1 | 1 | – | – | – | 2 |
| NeCoRo | A non-verbal, cat-like robot designed to move and look like a real cat. NeCoRo can interpret its surroundings and move accordingly. NeCoRo can express emotion. | 1 | – | – | – | – | 1 |
| Nodding Kabochan | A small robot, with the appearance of a child-like teddy, that can talk, sing and nod. It is designed to communicate with users. Nodding Kabochan can play exercise and singing games with the user. | – | 1 | – | – | – | 1 |
| Silbot | A penguin-like robot that can speak and detect faces. Silbot can engage with users in conversation, games and provide care through drug regimen reminders. | – | 1 | – | – | – | 1 |
| Paro | A non-verbal, seal-like robot with the ability to move its head and tail, blink and make sounds and has five sensory modalities: light, sound, temperature, posture and tactile. Paro will respond to being held or stroked and can learn to respond to its name. Paro has its own rhythms; will at times be playful and at other times sleepy and inactive. table 2: description of Socially Assistive Robots used in Included Studies. | 9 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 17 |