Hofstede Bob M, Askari Sima Ipakchian, Lukkien Dirk, Gosetto Laëtitia, Alberts Janna W, Tesfay Ephrem, Ter Stal Minke, van Hoesel Tom, Cuijpers Raymond H, Vastenburg Martijn H, Bevilacqua Roberta, Amabili Giulio, Margaritini Arianna, Benadduci Marco, Guebey Julie, Trabelsi Mohamed Amine, Ciuffreda Ilaria, Casaccia Sara, IJsselsteijn Wijnand, Revel Gian Marco, Nap Henk Herman
Vilans Centre of Expertise for Long-Term Care, Utrecht, Netherlands.
Human-Technology Interaction Group, Department of Industrial Engineering and Innovation Sciences, Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, Netherlands.
Front Robot AI. 2025 Mar 28;12:1537272. doi: 10.3389/frobt.2025.1537272. eCollection 2025.
Older adults often desire to remain in their homes for as long as possible, and Socially Assistive Robots (SARs) can play a role in supporting this goal. However, the acceptance and adoption rates of SARs remain relatively low, suggesting that current designs may not fully address all user needs. Field studies in Human-Robot Interaction, particularly those involving multiple end-users, remain limited. Nevertheless, such studies are crucial for identifying factors that shape the user experience with SARs, potentially improving their acceptance and adoption in healthcare settings. Therefore, this study aims to explore user perspectives, referred to as factors, that could guide design considerations for SAR development. We conducted a field study with 90 participants across Italy, Switzerland, and the Netherlands to identify these factors and their implications for improving the SAR user experience for older adults and their formal and informal caregivers. SARs were placed in the homes of older adults, and interviews were conducted with the three groups of primary end-users, at the beginning, midpoint, and end of the two-to six-week trial period. We initially focused on four factors (personalisation, interactivity, embodiment, and ethical considerations), identified in earlier design phases of the related 3-year Guardian project. Our findings confirmed the importance of these factors while uncovering additional ones. Personalisation and interactivity emerged as the most important ones among these factors. Based on our insights, we recommend involving all primary end-users in SAR research and design process and prioritising field studies to refine design elements. In conclusion, our study identified six factors for SAR design that can enhance the user experience: personalisation, interactivity, embodiment, ethical considerations, connectedness, and dignity. These findings provide valuable guidance for developing SARs that may better address the needs of older adults and their caregivers.
老年人通常希望尽可能长时间地待在自己家中，而社交辅助机器人（SARs）可以在支持这一目标方面发挥作用。然而，SARs的接受率和采用率仍然相对较低，这表明当前的设计可能没有完全满足所有用户需求。人机交互方面的实地研究，尤其是涉及多个终端用户的研究仍然有限。尽管如此，此类研究对于识别影响SARs用户体验的因素至关重要，有可能提高它们在医疗保健环境中的接受度和采用率。因此，本研究旨在探索用户视角，即所谓的因素，这些因素可以指导SARs开发的设计考量。我们在意大利、瑞士和荷兰对90名参与者进行了一项实地研究，以识别这些因素及其对改善老年人及其正式和非正式护理人员的SARs用户体验的影响。将SARs放置在老年人的家中，并在为期两到六周的试验期开始、中期和结束时，与三组主要终端用户进行访谈。我们最初关注在相关的为期三年的“守护者”项目早期设计阶段确定的四个因素（个性化、交互性、具身性和伦理考量）。我们的研究结果证实了这些因素的重要性，同时也发现了其他因素。在这些因素中，个性化和交互性成为最重要的因素。基于我们的见解，我们建议让所有主要终端用户参与SAR研究和设计过程，并优先进行实地研究以完善设计元素。总之，我们的研究确定了六个可提升用户体验的SAR设计因素：个性化、交互性、具身性、伦理考量、关联性和尊严。这些发现为开发可能更好地满足老年人及其护理人员需求的SARs提供了有价值的指导。
