Beer Jenay M, Prakash Akanksha, Smarr Cory-Ann, Mitzner Tracy L, Kemp Charles C, Rogers Wendy A
School of Psychology, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA.
Department of Biomedical Engineering Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA.
Proc Hum Factors Ergon Soc Annu Meet. 2012 Sep;56(1):1263-1267. doi: 10.1177/1071181312561224. Epub 2016 Dec 20.
Home robots have the potential to assist older adults in maintaining their independence. However, robots deployed in older adults' homes will be required to interact with untrained, novice users. The way untrained users, such as older adults, provide commands or control the robot (i.e., "method of robot control") will likely impact the ease of use and adoption of the robot. The current study explored older adults' preferences for controlling robots. Twelve independently-living older adults (ages 68-79) observed a functioning personal robot in a home setting, and were interviewed about their opinions regarding specific methods of robot control (i.e., laser pointer, physical manipulation, and devices). The older adults perceived advantages and disadvantages of these specific methods, including 'specificity in command', 'accurate robot performance', 'limitations in their own physical capability', and 'challenges in using control device.' The older adults also completed a questionnaire measuring their willingness to use 10 different types of methods of robot control. These data revealed that older adults were willing to use a variety of methods. Although older adults were limited in their spontaneous ideas about robot control (i.e., limited to voice command), once exposed to other options they were willing and open to a variety of control methods.
家用机器人有潜力帮助老年人维持其独立性。然而，部署在老年人家中的机器人将需要与未经培训的新手用户进行交互。像老年人这样未经培训的用户提供指令或控制机器人的方式（即“机器人控制方法”）可能会影响机器人的易用性和接受度。当前的研究探讨了老年人对控制机器人的偏好。12名独立生活的老年人（年龄在68 - 79岁之间）在家庭环境中观察了一个运行的个人机器人，并就他们对特定机器人控制方法（即激光笔、物理操作和设备）的看法接受了访谈。老年人认识到这些特定方法的优点和缺点，包括“指令的明确性”、“机器人的准确性能”、“自身身体能力的限制”以及“使用控制设备的挑战”。老年人还完成了一份问卷，测量他们使用10种不同类型机器人控制方法的意愿。这些数据表明老年人愿意使用多种方法。尽管老年人对机器人控制的自发想法有限（即仅限于语音指令），但一旦接触到其他选项，他们愿意并接受多种控制方法。
