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Griffith University researcher Professor Wendy Moyle, who has been studying the effect robotic animals have on aged care residents for the past 15 years, said it had been an amazing journey, but it had its challenges.
"When we first started doing this work, we had a lot of difficulties, particularly with aged care staff and also with residents' families," Professor Moyle said.
"They thought that these were toys rather than robots."
Professor Moyle said staff and family sometimes felt offering robotic pets was similar to treating residents like children, but their reactions were surprising.
"They've often seen their family member just sitting with a blank face, a blank affect, not talking a lot, not smiling, not engaging with the world," she said.
"We give them this robot, and families suddenly see the person smiling, engaging with the robot, rocking the robot, talking with it.
"They start to see them as the person they remember."
Professor Moyle said robotic animals weren't a replacement for live therapy animals but were an important tool.
"You can't bring in live therapy animals all the time or every day," she said.
She said live animals could take time away from caring for the residents.