What do staff in eldercare want a robot for? An assessment of potential tasks and user requirements for a long-term deployment

Abstract

Robotic aids could help to overcome the gap between rising numbers of older adults and at the same time declining numbers of care staff. Assessments of end-user requirements, especially focusing on staff in eldercare facilities are still sparse. Contributing to this field of research this study presents end-user requirements and task analysis gained from a methodological combination of interviews and focus group discussions. The findings suggest different tasks robots in eldercare could engage in such as “fetch and carry” tasks, specific entertainment and information tasks, support in physical and occupational therapy, and in security. Furthermore this paper presents an iterative approach that closes the loop between requirements-assessments and subsequent implementations that follow the found requirements.