Raghunath Nisha, Pereyda Christopher, Frow Justin F, Cook Diane, Schmitter-Edgecombe Maureen
Washington State University Department of Psychology, Pullman, USA.
Washington State University School of EECS, Pullman, USA.
Gerontechnology. 2020 Jul 28;19(3). doi: 10.4017/gt.2020.19.003.07.
As older adults age, they may require assistance completing activities of daily living (ADLs). Robotic assistance can offset healthcare costs and allow older adults to preserve their autonomy. Younger adults are often involved in the design and purchase of these robotic technologies, and must take into account the needs and expectations of the target population (i.e., older adults) to create a robot that the end-user will adopt.
RESEARCH AIM/QUESTIONS: This study evaluated the opinions of both younger and older adults regarding the design and performance of the Robot Activity Support (RAS) system. It is important to understand points of agreement and divergence between these populations' perspectives so that effective robotic aids are created for older adults.
Fifty-two younger and older adults completed three scripted tasks with the RAS robot in a smart home environment. Each participant made task errors to cue the robot to offer help via three prompt modalities (guide to the object, video of forgotten step, and video of the full task). After interacting with the robot, participants completed questionnaires to evaluate their opinions of and satisfaction with the robot.
There were no differences between younger and older adults' perceptions of the robot across a variety of factors (e.g., likability, cognitive demand), with both age groups expressing generally neutral opinions. Both groups rated the Full Video prompt as least helpful, effective, and liked. Participants recommended the robot's response accuracy, movement speed, alerting style and system flexibility be improved. Younger adults overestimated how much older adults would want a robot like this.
This study underscores the importance of testing technology with the end-user, as older adults were less interested in having a similar robot in their home than younger counterparts expected. Future studies will show if older adults' opinions can be improved after making the recommended changes.
随着老年人年龄的增长，他们在完成日常生活活动（ADL）时可能需要帮助。机器人辅助可以抵消医疗保健成本，并使老年人保持自主能力。年轻人通常参与这些机器人技术的设计和购买，并且必须考虑目标人群（即老年人）的需求和期望，以创建最终用户会采用的机器人。
研究目的/问题：本研究评估了年轻人和老年人对机器人活动支持（RAS）系统的设计和性能的看法。了解这些人群观点之间的一致和分歧点很重要，以便为老年人创建有效的机器人辅助设备。
52名年轻人和老年人在智能家居环境中使用RAS机器人完成了三项脚本任务。每个参与者制造任务错误，以促使机器人通过三种提示方式（指向物体的引导、忘记步骤的视频和完整任务的视频）提供帮助。与机器人互动后，参与者完成问卷以评估他们对机器人的看法和满意度。
在各种因素（如可爱程度、认知需求）方面，年轻人和老年人对机器人的看法没有差异，两个年龄组的意见总体上都是中性的。两组都将完整视频提示评为最没有帮助、最无效且最不喜欢的提示方式。参与者建议提高机器人的响应准确性、移动速度、警报方式和系统灵活性。年轻人高估了老年人想要这样一个机器人的程度。
本研究强调了对最终用户进行技术测试的重要性，因为老年人对在家中拥有类似机器人的兴趣不如年轻人预期的那么高。未来的研究将表明，在进行建议的更改后，老年人的意见是否会有所改善。
