An Early Phase 1 interventional study of Exercise with Assistive Robot in Active Control (Robot on Screen) and Adaptive Assistive Robot, sponsored by Oregon State University. Active, not recruiting at 1 site in United States. Open to participants aged 18 Years and older, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-10-21.
Sponsored by Oregon State University · Early Phase 1, Interventional, and Basic science
In this protocol, the researchers will shift from the past short-term methods to a longer-term deployment and study of a robotic system in a skilled nursing facility setting. The research team will use a repeated baseline-intervention period to understand changes brought on by the robot, specifically. The robot will be deployed in the partnering SNF ambiently (i.e., in a public setting where all residents can elect to use it on demand). Additionally, the researchers will make bi-weekly visits to check in and observe participants performing the intervention activity. The research team will share findings using academic conferences and journals.
The aim of this study is to empirically evaluate the impact of a robot (designed by the research team in previous efforts) on wellness-related exercise behaviors of older adults in a skilled nursing facility setting. The robot will be deployed in a common area and will be available for use by all residents as much or as little as they wish. During the intervention itself, the participants will perform physical exercises with the robotic system while also answering trivia questions to help maintain exercise engagement.
The research team will specifically test the hypothesis that for activity levels (measured by a wearable fitness tracker), bi-weekly self-reports (e.g., responses to questions about enjoyment, engagement, and exercise levels), and behavioral engagement in exercise will be higher during an intervention period with the assistive robot present vs. baseline and retention periods with a screen-based agent with a similar exercise-support function. Observation and measurement procedures remain the same across all conditions for ambient interactions with the robot.
Oregon State University is the lead sponsor of 38 studies on the registry; 2 are open to participants now.
Of its 6 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 4 (67%) have results posted.
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Our research team will complete participatory design steps and conduct a final long-term evaluation involving two intervention support phases: (1) a robotic intervention system that adapts over time and (2) an active control (an onscreen version of the same robot, similar to modern commercial technologies). We will be able to compare outcomes across phases, which follow an ABAB design with each phase being 1.5 months long. This design allows for each person to be compared to their own active control baseline, in addition to analyses of differences between the phases, allowing for meaningful insights even from a small study cohort. The proposed robotic intervention (i.e., a robot for physical and cognitive exercise) was identified by the skilled nursing facility stakeholders as their top desired robotic application in initial research team discussions.
Behavioral: Exercise with Assistive Robot
During the single arm of this study, participants will experience active control experiences with an onscreen version of an assistive robot (similar to the standard of care), as well as experimental experiences with an in-person version of the robot (a novel intervention). The robot is the system that has been designed by our research team based on previous design cycles with the Oregon Veterans' Home.
NNIH Toolbox Motor Battery Pegboard Test
Physical ability assessment involving a pegboard task.
Time frame: Day 1 and every 14 of the study days after that, during the study period
NIH Toolbox Cognitive Measure Activities
Cognitive assessments from the NIH Toolboxes selected to test key aspects of cognition such as memory and sequencing.
Time frame: Day 1 and every 14 days after that, during the study period
General Robot Opinions and Social Attributes of Robots Questions
Self-report questions to gauge participant view of robots and other technology.
Time frame: Day 1 and final day of study
Box and Blocks Assessment
Objective measure of hand/arm function based on moving blocks from one box to another with in a minute time limit.
Time frame: Day 1 and every 45 days after that, during the study period
Activities of Daily Living (ADL) Assessment
Assessment about participant abilities related to activities such as bathing, dressing, feeding, and toileting.
Time frame: Day 1 and every 45 days after that, during the study period
Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression (CES-D)
Assessments related to depression, which may influence other parts of performance in the study.
Time frame: Day 1 and every 45 days after that, during the study period
Vigorousness of Motion (from Inertial Measurement Unit)
We will use an established data extraction pipeline to determine vigorousness of motion from the IMU data during sessions.
Time frame: Day 1 and every 14 days after that, during the study period
Assessment and Life Satisfaction Index A (LSI-A)
Assessments related to life satisfaction, which may influence other parts of performance in the study.
Time frame: Day 1 and every 45 days after that, during the study period
Exercise Pose Quality (from Video Recordings)
We will use camera data processing to extract skeleton pose during sessions and evaluate their fit with the desired exercise routines.
Time frame: Day 1 and every 14 days after that, during the study period
PDFs hosted by the registry, ClinicalTrials.gov.
Plan to share: Undecided — Under the approved IRB protocol, we are unable to provide identifying data, but we may include anonymized datasets as part of our publishing as approved under the approved protocol.
Started Jul 2026 (actual). Primary completion is estimated for Jan 2027, 5 months after the start.
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From the registry record's own update history. This site started tracking changes on Sep 25, 2026; for anything earlier, see the record history on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
This study is active, not recruiting, as verified in Oct 2026. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.
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Oregon State University