Towards collaboration between professional caregivers and robots - A preliminary study

International audienceIn this paper, we address the question of which potential use of a robot in a health-care environment is imagined by people that are not experts in robotics, and how these people imagine to teach new movements to a robot. We report on the preliminary results of our investigation , in which we conducted 40 interviews with non-experts in robotics and a focus group with professional caregivers

Why Should I Use This? Identifying Incentives for Using AAL Technologies

Ambient Assisted Living (AAL) technologies have the potential to target the challenges of our aging population. However, little is known about what motivates older adults to adopt these new technologies. Most research in this area relies on single cases with a specific AAL application and a limited number of users. To fill this gap, a content analyses of 35 AAL reports was conducted. The aim was to provide a comprehensive overview of potential incentives for using AAL technologies. The data was coded using the Social Cognitive Theory (SCT). In total 13 incentives could be identified, which were grouped into six categories: (1) social incentives, (2) health and safety incentives, (3) activity incentives, (4) novel sensory incentives, (5) status incentives and (6) self-reactive incentives. Within these categories ‘social connectedness’ and ‘health and safety’ were the most important incentives. These results provide a comprehensive and theoretically grounded understanding of what motivates older adults to adopt AAL technologies

Independent Aging with the Help of Smart Technology:Investigating the Acceptance of Ambient Assisted Living Technologies

Who takes care of our older adults? According to the European Union, smart technologies that support independent living and active aging, introduced as ‘Ambient Assisted Living’ (AAL), are the future for our aging population. Promises of AAL include saving long-term care costs, improving the quality of care, unburdening family caregivers, and increasing the older adults’ independence and overall quality of life. While the policy enthusiasm for AAL technology is high, it is unclear if the potential users of AAL are willing to embrace AAL technologies in their daily lives. This dissertation addressed this issue by focusing on the perspective of older adults and their caregivers. Using a combination of qualitative and quantitative approaches, we developed a comprehensive and theoretically grounded understanding of how and why users perceive AAL technologies in a certain way. Important factors that drive or hinder the acceptance were identified. These insights resulted in a model of AAL acceptance that was validated in a representative sample (n = 1296) of the Dutch older adult population. This dissertation contributes to a more user-driven approach in AAL research and development and has important implications for researchers, developers and policy makers alike. We hope that our results will guide future research efforts, design and policy directions in the AAL field