Meeting Requirements of Older Users? Robot Prototype Trials in a Home-like Environment

A prototype of an assistive robot for older people was tested in three different countries in life-like lab settings. A sample of potential older users with different grades and types of age-related impairments completed a sequence of tasks with the robot. Subsequently, usability issues, user acceptance, and their willingness to pay for such a robot (affordability) were assessed to find out if the robot caters to the needs of the impairment groups. Main results of the data analyses were: ease of use was deemed satisfactory by the majority of participants. Task speed was considered to be rather slow. Additionally, it could be shown that participants were sceptical of buying a robot for their own use, but would be willing to rent one. A significant difference in classifying the robot prototype as helpful for the home was found in participants with mobility impairments compared to participants without mobility impairments.