Designing Robots to Improve Quality of Life for Older Adults

With adults over sixty becoming an ever-increasing proportion of the global population, the challenge of accommodating the needs, preferences, and abilities, of this heterogeneous population has increased. One such method is with robots, which can be used to support everyday activities for older adults and enhance their quality of life. Older adults have been found to be quite open to the idea of interacting with robots, albeit with preferences for the nature of the task they want the robots to do. This book provides a comprehensive state-of-the-art review of the topic of designing robots for older adults. This book translates research on aging, human factors, and human-robot interaction (HRI) into guidance that will be usable for practitioners who design robots for a range of applications. It offers a framework for HRI with a focus on personal characteristics, robot functionality, task demands, and interaction context. The application of this HRI framework for older adults provides the basis for the book. It covers the fundamentals of aging, a review of the different types of robots available now and in the future, the known facilitators and barriers for adoption and the potential of robots for different everyday activities including social engagement, health and wellness, home maintenance and security. Throughout, the authors emphasize the need to follow fundamental human factors processes and participatory design approaches that engage older adults in the design process, thus allowing the reader a thorough and contemporary understanding of robots as an essential future for assisting an aging population. Designing Robots to Improve Quality of Life for Older Adults is intended for a broad professional audience, especially the design community, gerontologists, and human factors/ergonomics practitioners. It will also be suitable for students at the undergraduate and graduate level as a supplementary textbook for courses in human factors, design for aging, and HRI.

Wendy A. Rogers, Ph.D., is Khan Professor of Applied Health Sciences at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. She is Director of the Human Factors and Aging Laboratory and a Certified Human Factors Professional (BCPE Certificate #1539). Her research focuses on advanced technology design to support autonomy of older adults, with and without disabilities. Tracy L. Mitzner, Ph.D., is Founder and Principal Research Scientist at Person in Design, a consulting firm specializing in leveraging scientific research to drive technology design for older adults, including those with disabilities. Her research interests include the design of emerging technologies (mobile applications, health monitoring, telepresence, robotics), particularly for applications to facilitate social and physical wellness.

Chapter 1. Introduction and Overview. 1.1 Potential of robots to support older adults. 1.2 Media representation vs. current state of science. 1.3 What is a robot?. 1.4 Categories of robots. 1.5 Human-Robot Interaction Framework. 1.6 Goals for the book. Chapter 2. Human Characteristics. 2.1 Human characteristics overview. 2.2 Demographics. 2.3 Abilities. 2.4 Psychosocial. 2.5 Experiences. 2.6 Design guidelines for human characteristics. Chapter 3. Robot Characteristics. 3.1 Robot characteristics overview. 3.2 Appearance. 3.3 Capabilities. 3.4 Socialness. 3.5 Autonomy. 3.6 Design guidelines for robot characteristics. Chapter 4. Interaction Characteristics. 4.1 Interaction characteristics overview. 4.2 Task. 4.3 Roles. 4.4 Engagement. 4.5 Workload. 4.6 Design guidelines for interaction characteristics. Chapter 5. Interaction Environments. 5.1 Interactions environments overview. 5.2 Natural. 5.3 Built. 5.4 Social. 5.5 Technology. 5.6 Design guidelines for interaction environments. Chapter 6. Ethical Considerations. 6.1 Overview of ethical considerations. 6.2 Robot laws and roboethics. 6.3 Robot care providers. 6.4 Safety/risk of harm and consequences. 6.5 Privacy and security. 6.6. Design guidelines for ethics. Chapter 7. HRI Design Methods and Assessment Measures. 7.1 HRI design methods and assessment measures overview. 7.2 Design methods. 7.3 Measures. 7.4 Guidelines for design methods and assessment measures. Chapter 8. Applying the HRI Framework: The Evans Story. 8.1 Applications overview. 8.2 The Evans family and the Stretch robot: A case study. 8.3 Lessons learned. Chapter 9. Implementation Considerations. 9.1 Implementation overview. 9.2 Technology maturation: The Gartner Hype Cycle. 9.3 Traits and characteristics of people. 9.4 Perceptions about technology. 9.5 Robot maintenance. 9.6 Planning and evaluating success. 9.7 Guidelines for implementation. Chapter 10. Conclusions. 10.1 Potential of robots to improve quality of life for older adults. 10.2 Human factors process. 10.3 Applying the guidelines in the design process. 10.4 Systemic supports needed. 10.5 Conclusion