TABLE 2.

Comparison of different socially assistive tools.

	Cognitive support and daytime structure	Activity and social stimulation		Comfort and emotional support			Integrated social assistance
Example(s)	Tinybots Tessa 3	Maatje-robot 4	Zora 5	Paro 6	HUG 7	Weighted stuffed dolls N/A	HI-SARs (Hyodol 8 , Maatje-pop 9 )
User group	People with cognitive disabilities (dementia, autism, or another psychosocial condition)	People with dementia, autism, and mild intellectual disabilities	Not for a specific target group. Primarily used with older adults and other people in care	People with mild cognitive impairments or dementia	People with mild cognitive impairments or dementia	People with mild cognitive impairments or dementia	People with mild cognitive impairments or dementia
Movements (actuators)	No movement	Movement of the limbs	Movement of the limbs	Movement of the body (seal)	Heartbeat simulation	No movement	No movement
Detection(sensors)	Audio (speech recognition), push button (1x)	Audio (speech recognition), camera (for scanning QR codes)	Audio, (infrared) camera, facial recognition, sonar, tactile and pressure sensors	No	No	No	Audio, motion and touch detection, push buttons in the hands and ears
Battery life	Not applicable (designed for continuous mains power)	Approximately 2–3 h on a full charge	Battery life not specified; Equipped with a 62.5 Wh lithium-ion battery (21.6 V)	Not specified, but designed for long-term use	2–3 days	Not applicable	3–7 days
Interaction	Speak written messages, eye-blinking	Speak written messages with a preset limb movement and emotional tone	In current applications not possible to send messages, but possible to respond to questions	Nonverbal, sensory-based interaction in terms of sounds and movements	Can simulate a heartbeat and play the sound of a heartbeat	No interaction	Speak written messages, play MP3 files of recorded messages, maintaining the voice of the speaker
Scripts	Can execute scripts. There are predefined scripts, but it is also possible to write a custom script	Can execute scripts. This script can be composed with, for example, appointments, words, songs, voice pitch, and speed	Zora is fully programmable and can answer questions	No scripts	No scripts	No scripts	Contains a complete script (which can be personalized regarding the client status)
Functions	Providing daytime structure support (agenda function), playing music, and asking (preset) questions to which the user can respond with yes or no.	Games, educational tools, physiotherapy and rehabilitation exercises, stories or responses based on interest, providing daytime structure support, responding to signaling plans	Facial recognition, stimulate movement, play music, dance, read stories, and play games	Provide comfort and serenity by cuddling	Provide comfort and stress relief by cuddling and simulating a low heartbeat by sound and resonance	Provide comfort and serenity by cuddling	Provides daytime structure support, plays music and quizzes, religious stories, provide comfort and serenity by cuddling, and movement exercises