Evaluating older adults' interaction with a mobile assistive robot

TLDR

The study aimed to evaluate human‑robot interaction efficacy and identify improvements for robot design and programming. The robot’s hardware and software were guided by focus groups and surveys of clinicians, caregivers, and older adults, and its deployment was refined through observation and post‑interaction surveys to inform future development. Deployments in low‑income supportive apartment living facilities revealed that hydration and walking encouragement were critical activities, and overall older adults reported high perceived usefulness and growing acceptance of the robot.

Abstract

This paper presents findings from two deployments of an autonomous mobile robot in older adult low income Supportive Apartment Living (SAL) facilities. Design guidelines for the robot hardware and software were based on query of clinicians, caregivers and older adults through focus groups, member checks and surveys, to identify what each group believed to be the most important daily activities for older adults to accomplish physically, mentally and socially. After data analysis, hydration and walking encouragement were found to be critical daily activities, becoming the focus of our deployments. The aim of the deployments was to understand the efficacy of human-robot interaction and identify ways to enhance the robot design and programming. Through observation of older adults interacting with the robot and post-interaction surveys filled out by the older adults, conclusions were drawn for further advancement of the robot development to be tested in future deployments. Results overall indicated high perceived usefulness and growing acceptance of the robot by older adults with increased interactions.