scholarly journals Designing Acceptable Robots for Assisting Older Adults: A Pilot Study on the Willingness to Interact

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (20) ◽  
pp. 10686
Author(s):  
Roberta Bevilacqua ◽  
Elisa Felici ◽  
Filippo Cavallo ◽  
Giulio Amabili ◽  
Elvira Maranesi
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Mixed Method ◽  
Interaction Analysis ◽  
Human Robot Interaction ◽  
Assistive Robotics ◽  
Service Robot ◽  
Emotional Expressions ◽  
Nonverbal Behaviors ◽  
Robot Interaction ◽  
Method Approach

The aim of this paper was to explore the psychosocial determinants that lead to acceptability and willingness to interact with a service robot, starting with an analysis of older users’ behaviors toward the Robot-Era platform, in order to provide strategies for the promotion of social assistive robotics. A mixed-method approach was used to collect information on acceptability, usability, and human–robot interaction, by analyzing nonverbal behaviors, emotional expressions, and verbal communication. The study involved 35 older adults. Twenty-two were women and thirteen were men, aged 73.8 (±6) years old. Video interaction analysis was conducted to capture the users’ gestures, statements, and expressions. A coded scheme was designed on the basis of the literature in the field. Percentages of time and frequency of the selected events are reported. The statements of the users were collected and analyzed. The results of the behavioral analysis reveal a largely positive attitude, inferred from nonverbal clues and nonverbal emotional expressions. The results highlight the need to provide robotic solutions that respect the tasks they offer to the users It is necessary to give older consumers dedicated training in technological literacy to guarantee proper, long-lasting, and successful use.

scholarly journals The Complexity of Human Social Interactions Calls for Mixed Methods in HRI

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-4
Author(s):  
Johanna Seibt ◽  
Christina Vestergaard ◽  
Malene F. Damholdt
Keyword(s):  
Mixed Methods ◽  
Social Interactions ◽  
Mixed Method ◽  
Quantitative Methods ◽  
Social Reality ◽  
Human Robot Interaction ◽  
Research Note ◽  
Robot Interaction ◽  
Mixed Method Approach ◽  
Method Approach

In this research note, we offer a comment on the “A Primer for Conducting Experiments in Human-robot Interaction,” by G. Hoffman and X. Zhao, suggesting that due to the complexity of human social reality quantitative methods should be integrated into a mixed method approach.

scholarly journals Perceptions and experiences of frailty interventions: quantitative and qualitative results from a survey of partners within the European Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Ageing (EIP-AHA)

2017 ◽  
Vol 38 (9) ◽  
pp. 1843-1867 ◽  
Author(s):  
HOLLY GWYTHER ◽  
RICHARD COOKE ◽  
RACHEL SHAW ◽  
MAURA MARCUCCI ◽  
ANTONIO CANO ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Mixed Method ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Healthy Ageing ◽  
Social Aspect ◽  
Free Text ◽  
Active And Healthy Ageing ◽  
Perceived Benefit ◽  
Inductive Thematic Analysis ◽  
Method Approach

ABSTRACTThe European Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Ageing (EIP-AHA) was launched by the European Commission in 2011 to promote innovation in ageing research. This paper explores the experiences of partners delivering frailty interventions within Europe, registering their programmes with the EIP-AHA. Data were collected using an online survey from 21 partners in seven countries. A mixed-method approach was used with inductive thematic analysis of free-text responses to improve data richness. Responses indicated that there was a lack of consistency between EIP-AHA partners in methods of defining, screening and measuring for frailty and pre-frailty. Open responses to survey questions about intervention facilitators, moderators and barriers were coded into two themes: working with stakeholders and project management. We concluded that EIP-AHA partners are providing interventions addressing physical, cognitive and wellbeing elements of frailty. However, there needs to be an increase in the proportion of interventions that consistently apply valid methods of screening and/or measuring frailty and pre-frailty. Most, but not all projects are targeting pre-frail older adults, suggesting an appropriate balance of prevention in a useful ‘intervention window’ but also a growing understanding that frailty at later stages is amenable to intervention. Findings suggest design manipulations to improve outcomes and adherence to interventions, specifically inclusion of a perceived benefit/reward for older adults, e.g. a social aspect or health-care promotion.

Robotics for Assisting Children with Physical and Cognitive Disabilities

2015 ◽  
pp. 78-120 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Tee Kit Tsun ◽  
Lau Bee Theng ◽  
Hudyjaya Siswoyo Jo ◽  
Patrick Then Hang Hui
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Cerebral Palsy ◽  
Social Interaction ◽  
Assistive Technologies ◽  
Human Robot Interaction ◽  
Assistive Robotics ◽  
Active Movement ◽  
Robot Interaction ◽  
Passive Stretching ◽  
Locomotion Training

This chapter summarizes the findings of a study on robotics research and application for assisting children with disabilities between the years 2009 and 2013. The said disabilities include impairment of motor skills, locomotion, and social interaction that is commonly attributed to children suffering from Autistic Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and Cerebral Palsy (CP). As opposed to assistive technologies for disabilities that largely account for restoration of physical capabilities, disabled children also require dedicated rehabilitation for social interaction and mental health. As such, the breadth of this study covers existing efforts in rehabilitation of both physical and socio-psychological domains, which involve Human-Robot Interaction. Overviewed topics include assisted locomotion training, passive stretching and active movement rehabilitation, upper-extremity motor function, social interactivity, therapist-mediators, active play encouragement, as well as several life-long assistive robotics in current use. This chapter concludes by drawing attention to ethical and adoption issues that may obstruct the field's effectiveness.

scholarly journals Multiscale Entropy Quantifies the Differential Effect of the Medium Embodiment on Older Adults Prefrontal Cortex during the Story Comprehension: A Comparative Analysis

Entropy ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 199 ◽  
Author(s):  
Soheil Keshmiri ◽  
Hidenobu Sumioka ◽  
Ryuji Yamazaki ◽  
Hiroshi Ishiguro
Keyword(s):  
Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Interactive Media ◽  
Human Robot Interaction ◽  
Assistive Robotics ◽  
Multiscale Entropy ◽  
Story Comprehension ◽  
Complementary Information ◽  
Robot Interaction ◽  
Activation Patterns ◽  
Age Related

Todays’ communication media virtually impact and transform every aspect of our daily communication and yet the extent of their embodiment on our brain is unexplored. The study of this topic becomes more crucial, considering the rapid advances in such fields as socially assistive robotics that envision the use of intelligent and interactive media for providing assistance through social means. In this article, we utilize the multiscale entropy (MSE) to investigate the effect of the physical embodiment on the older people’s prefrontal cortex (PFC) activity while listening to stories. We provide evidence that physical embodiment induces a significant increase in MSE of the older people’s PFC activity and that such a shift in the dynamics of their PFC activation significantly reflects their perceived feeling of fatigue. Our results benefit researchers in age-related cognitive function and rehabilitation who seek for the adaptation of these media in robot-assistive cognitive training of the older people. In addition, they offer a complementary information to the field of human-robot interaction via providing evidence that the use of MSE can enable the interactive learning algorithms to utilize the brain’s activation patterns as feedbacks for improving their level of interactivity, thereby forming a stepping stone for rich and usable human mental model.

Human–Robot Interaction Analysis for a Smart Walker for Elderly: The ACANTO Interactive Guidance System

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 479-492 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francesco Ferrari ◽  
Stefano Divan ◽  
Cristina Guerrero ◽  
Fabiano Zenatti ◽  
Roberta Guidolin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Interaction Analysis ◽  
Human Robot Interaction ◽  
Guidance System ◽  
Robot Interaction ◽  
Smart Walker

scholarly journals A New Perspective on Robot Ethics through Investigating Human–Robot Interactions with Older Adults

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (21) ◽  
pp. 10136
Author(s):  
Anouk van Maris ◽  
Nancy Zook ◽  
Sanja Dogramadzi ◽  
Matthew Studley ◽  
Alan Winfield ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Social Robots ◽  
Human Robot Interaction ◽  
Assessment Tools ◽  
Robot Ethics ◽  
Robot Interaction ◽  
Healthy Older Adults ◽  
Artificial Emotions ◽  
New Perspective

This work explored the use of human–robot interaction research to investigate robot ethics. A longitudinal human–robot interaction study was conducted with self-reported healthy older adults to determine whether expression of artificial emotions by a social robot could result in emotional deception and emotional attachment. The findings from this study have highlighted that currently there appears to be no adequate tools, or the means, to determine the ethical impact and concerns ensuing from long-term interactions between social robots and older adults. This raises the question whether we should continue the fundamental development of social robots if we cannot determine their potential negative impact and whether we should shift our focus to the development of human–robot interaction assessment tools that provide more objective measures of ethical impact.

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