Maximizing the Benefits of Participatory Design for Human–Robot Interaction Research With Older Adults

Author(s):  
Wendy A. Rogers ◽  
Travis Kadylak ◽  
Megan A. Bayles

Objective We reviewed human–robot interaction (HRI) participatory design (PD) research with older adults. The goal was to identify methods used, determine their value for design of robots with older adults, and provide guidance for best practices. Background Assistive robots may promote aging-in-place and quality of life for older adults. However, the robots must be designed to meet older adults’ specific needs and preferences. PD and other user-centered methods may be used to engage older adults in the robot development process to accommodate their needs and preferences and to assure usability of emergent assistive robots. Method This targeted review of HRI PD studies with older adults draws on a detailed review of 26 articles. Our assessment focused on the HRI methods and their utility for use with older adults who have a range of needs and capabilities. Results Our review highlighted the importance of using mixed methods and including multiple stakeholders throughout the design process. These approaches can encourage mutual learning (to improve design by developers and to increase acceptance by users). We identified key phases used in HRI PD workshops (e.g., initial interview phase, series of focus groups phase, and presentation phase). These approaches can provide inspiration for future efforts. Conclusion HRI PD strategies can support designers in developing assistive robots that meet older adults’ needs, capabilities, and preferences to promote acceptance. More HRI research is needed to understand potential implications for aging-in-place. PD methods provide a promising approach.

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cinzia Di Dio ◽  
Federico Manzi ◽  
Giulia Peretti ◽  
Angelo Cangelosi ◽  
Paul L. Harris ◽  
...  

Studying trust within human-robot interaction is of great importance given the social relevance of robotic agents in a variety of contexts. We investigated the acquisition, loss and restoration of trust when preschool and school-age children played with either a human or a humanoid robot in-vivo. The relationship between trust and the quality of attachment relationships, Theory of Mind, and executive function skills was also investigated. No differences were found in children’s trust in the play-partner as a function of agency (human or robot). Nevertheless, 3-years-olds showed a trend toward trusting the human more than the robot, while 7-years-olds displayed the reverse behavioral pattern, thus highlighting the developing interplay between affective and cognitive correlates of trust.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 50-50
Author(s):  
Ha Neul Kim ◽  
Seok In Nam

Abstract Since 1980s professionals and social service providers have focused on aging at the place where people lived. This is the initial concept of the Aging in Place (AIP). Over 40 years, the topics have developed and extended to other disciplines welcoming different perspectives in the study of AIP. Therefore, this study aims to understand the overall research trends in Aging in Place (AIP) studies using text mining analysis to track the evolvement of AIP subtopics not only in Gerontology but also in various fields. To identify the topic trends, we collected the titles, abstracts, and keywords from 1,372 international articles that were published from 1981 to 2019. Then, keywords were extracted and cleaned based on precedent literature and discussions. We analyzed the keywords based on the degree of centrality and visualized the keyword-networks using VOSviewer and Pajek. Top-most popular keywords are “independent living”, “housing”, “older adults”, “home care”, “daily life activity” and “quality of life.” The change in topic trends shows that in the 1980s to early-2000s, research focused on organization and management level of intervention, home(housing) for the older adults, long term care. In the mid-2010s, health-related topics such as daily life activity, health service, health care delivery and quality of life have emerged. Recently, the topics have extended further to technology, caregiver, well-being, and environment design, environmental planning that support independent living of oneself. The research result shows that the interdisciplinary approach regarding AIP is not only inevitable but also encouraged for an in-depth discussion of the field.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 58-73
Author(s):  
Sofia Thunberg ◽  
Tom Ziemke

AbstractInteraction between humans and robots will benefit if people have at least a rough mental model of what a robot knows about the world and what it plans to do. But how do we design human-robot interactions to facilitate this? Previous research has shown that one can change people’s mental models of robots by manipulating the robots’ physical appearance. However, this has mostly not been done in a user-centred way, i.e. without a focus on what users need and want. Starting from theories of how humans form and adapt mental models of others, we investigated how the participatory design method, PICTIVE, can be used to generate design ideas about how a humanoid robot could communicate. Five participants went through three phases based on eight scenarios from the state-of-the-art tasks in the RoboCup@Home social robotics competition. The results indicate that participatory design can be a suitable method to generate design concepts for robots’ communication in human-robot interaction.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lauren Dwyer

Anxiety has a lifetime prevalence of 31% of Canadians (Katzman et al. 2014). In Canada, psychological services are only covered by provincial health insurance if the psychologist is employed in the public sector; this means long wait times in the public system or expensive private coverage (Canadian Psychological Association). Currently, social robots and Socially Assistive Robots (SAR) are used in the treatment of elderly individuals in nursing homes, as well as children with autism (Feil-Seifer & Matarić, 2011; Tapus et al., 2012). The following MRP is the first step in a long-term project that will contend with the issues faced by individuals with anxiety using a combined communications, social robotics, and mental health approach to develop an anxiety specific socially assistive robot companion. The focus of this MRP is the development of a communication model that includes three core aspects of a social robot companion: Human-Robot Interaction (HRI), anxiety disorders, and technical design. The model I am developing will consist of a series of suggestions for the robot that could be implemented in a long-term study. The model will include suggestions towards the design, communication means, and technical requirements, as well as a model for evaluating the robot from a Human-Robot- Interaction perspective. This will be done through an evaluation of three robots, Sphero’s BB-8 App Enabled Droid, Aldebaran’s Nao, and the Spin Master Zoomer robot. Evaluation measures include modified versions of Shneiderman’s (1992) evaluation of human-factors goals, Feil-Seifer et al.’s (2007) SAR evaluative questions, prompts for the description of both the communication methods and the physical characteristics, and a record of the emotional response of the user when interacting with the robot.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lauren Dwyer

Anxiety has a lifetime prevalence of 31% of Canadians (Katzman et al. 2014). In Canada, psychological services are only covered by provincial health insurance if the psychologist is employed in the public sector; this means long wait times in the public system or expensive private coverage (Canadian Psychological Association). Currently, social robots and Socially Assistive Robots (SAR) are used in the treatment of elderly individuals in nursing homes, as well as children with autism (Feil-Seifer & Matarić, 2011; Tapus et al., 2012). The following MRP is the first step in a long-term project that will contend with the issues faced by individuals with anxiety using a combined communications, social robotics, and mental health approach to develop an anxiety specific socially assistive robot companion. The focus of this MRP is the development of a communication model that includes three core aspects of a social robot companion: Human-Robot Interaction (HRI), anxiety disorders, and technical design. The model I am developing will consist of a series of suggestions for the robot that could be implemented in a long-term study. The model will include suggestions towards the design, communication means, and technical requirements, as well as a model for evaluating the robot from a Human-Robot- Interaction perspective. This will be done through an evaluation of three robots, Sphero’s BB-8 App Enabled Droid, Aldebaran’s Nao, and the Spin Master Zoomer robot. Evaluation measures include modified versions of Shneiderman’s (1992) evaluation of human-factors goals, Feil-Seifer et al.’s (2007) SAR evaluative questions, prompts for the description of both the communication methods and the physical characteristics, and a record of the emotional response of the user when interacting with the robot.


2015 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 78-92 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lilit Hakobyan ◽  
Jo Lumsden ◽  
Dympna O'Sullivan

Ongoing advances in mobile technologies have the potential to improve independence and quality of life of older adults by supporting the delivery of personalised and ubiquitous healthcare solutions. The authors are actively engaged in participatory, user-focused research to create a mobile assistive healthcare-related intervention for persons with age-related macular degeneration (AMD): the authors report here on our participatory research in which participatory design (PD) has been positively adopted and adapted for the design of our mobile assistive technology. The authors discuss their work as a case study in order to outline the practicalities and highlight the benefits of participatory research for the design of technology for (and importantly with) older adults. The authors argue it is largely impossible to achieve informed and effective design and development of healthcare-related technologies without employing participatory approaches, and outline recommendations for engaging in participatory design with older adults (with impairments) based on practical experience.


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