Usability and Feasibility Assessment of a Social Assistive Robot for the Older People: Results from the GUARDIAN Project

In Italy, many people aged over 65 cannot live independently, causing an overall decrease in their quality of life and a need for social and health care. Due to the lack of both formal and informal caregivers, technological solutions become of paramount importance in this scenario. This article desc...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Bioengineering (Basel) 2024-01, Vol.11 (1), p.20
Main Authors: Amabili, Giulio, Maranesi, Elvira, Margaritini, Arianna, Benadduci, Marco, Barbarossa, Federico, Casaccia, Sara, Nap, Henk Herman, Bevilacqua, Roberta
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
acceptance
Aged
Aging
ambient assisted living
Applications programs
Care and treatment
Caregivers
Communication
ecosystem
Ecosystems
End users
Feedback
Health aspects
Medical personnel
Mobile computing
older adults
Older people
Quality of life
Robots
Self-help devices for the disabled
Service robots
social robot
Technology application
Usability
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Summary:In Italy, many people aged over 65 cannot live independently, causing an overall decrease in their quality of life and a need for social and health care. Due to the lack of both formal and informal caregivers, technological solutions become of paramount importance in this scenario. This article describes the user-centered development of the GUARDIAN ecosystem, consisting of a social robot integrated with two mobile applications which aim to monitor, coach, and keep the older user company in order to prolong his/her independence at home. In particular, the advancements from the alpha to the beta prototype of the ecosystem are described, achieved through the feedback collected from 41 end users-older people and their carers-that have tested the system for 6 weeks. By enhancing human-robot interaction, a positive improvement in terms of usability and acceptability of the system was retrieved. However, to increase the perceived usefulness and the impact on older users' lives, it is necessary to make the entire system more customizable, and more capable in providing support for daily activities.
ISSN:2306-5354
2306-5354
DOI:10.3390/bioengineering11010020