Blackman Tim
School of Social Sciences , The Open University , UK .
Ageing Soc. 2013 Jul;33(5):763-781. doi: 10.1017/S0144686X1200027X. Epub 2012 Apr 23.
The literature on the development of assistive robots is dominated by technological papers with little consideration of how such devices might be commercialised for a mass market at a price that is affordable for older people and their families as well as public services and care insurers. This article argues that the focus of technical development in this field is too ambitious, neglecting the potential market for an affordable device that is aleady in the realm of the 'adjacent possible' given current technology capabilities. It also questions on both ethical and marketing grounds the current effort to develop assistive robots with pet-like or human-like features. The marketing literature on 'really new products' has so far not appeared to inform the development of assistive robots but has some important lessons. These include using analogies with existing products and giving particular attention to the role of early adopters. Relevant analogies for care robots are not animals or humans but useful domestic appliances and personal technologies with attractive designs, engaging functionality and intuitive usability. This points to a strategy for enabling mass adoption - which has so far eluded even conventional telecare - of emphasising how such an appliance is part of older people's contemporary lifestyles rather than a sign of age-related decline and loss of independence.
关于辅助机器人发展的文献主要是技术论文，很少考虑如何将这类设备商业化以推向大众市场，使其价格对于老年人及其家庭、公共服务机构和护理保险公司来说是可以承受的。本文认为，该领域技术发展的重点过于雄心勃勃，忽视了鉴于当前技术能力，一款价格亲民的设备在“临近可能”范围内已有的潜在市场。同时，本文还从伦理和市场推广的角度，对当前开发具有宠物或人类特征的辅助机器人的努力提出质疑。关于“真正的新产品”的市场推广文献，迄今似乎并未为辅助机器人的开发提供参考，但却有一些重要的经验教训。这些经验教训包括借鉴现有产品的类比方法，并特别关注早期采用者的作用。护理机器人的相关类比对象不是动物或人类，而是设计吸引人、功能实用且易于操作的家用器具和个人技术产品。这指向了一种推动大规模采用的策略——即使是传统的远程护理迄今也未能做到这一点——即强调这样一种器具如何成为老年人现代生活方式的一部分，而不是与年龄相关的衰退和失去独立性的标志。
