Understanding older adults' perceptions of usefulness of an assistive home robot

Developing robots that are useful to older adults is more than simply creating robots that complete household tasks. To ensure that older adults perceive a robot to be useful, careful consideration of the users’ capabilities, robot autonomy, and task is needed (Venkatesh & Davis, 2000). The purpose of this study was to investigate the construct of perceived usefulness within the context of robot assistance. Mobile older adults (N = 12) and older adults with mobility loss (N=12) participated in an autonomy selection think aloud task, and a persona based interview. Findings suggest that older adults with mobility loss preferred an autonomy level where they command/control the robot themselves. Mobile older adults’ preferences were split between commanding/controlling the robot themselves, or the robot commands/controls itself. Reasons for their preferences were related to decision making, and were task specific. Additionally, findings from the persona base interview study support Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) constructs, as well as adaptability, reliability, and trust as positively correlated with perceptions of usefulness. However, despite the positive correlation, barriers and facilitators of acceptance identified in the interview suggest that perceived usefulness judgments are complex, and some questionnaire constructs were interpreted differently between participants. Thus, care should be taken when applying TAM constructs to other domains, such as robot assistance to promote older adult independence.Ph.D

Design Considerations for Technology Interventions to Support Social and Physical Wellness for Older Adults with Disability

Social and physical wellness are important considerations for maintaining one’s health into older age and remaining independent. However, some segments of the older adult population, such as those aging with disability, are at increased risk for loneliness and reduced physical activity, which could result in negative health consequences. There is a critical need to understand how to deploy social and physical wellness interventions for people aging with disability. We provide an overview of constructs related to social and physical wellness, as well as evidence-based interventions effective with older populations. Our review yields considerations for how interventions may need to be developed or modified to be efficacious for this population segment. Technology may be a key component in adopting interventions, particularly tele-technologies, which we define and discuss in depth.<br /

Understanding Robot Acceptance

This research was supported in part by a grant from the National Institutes of Health (National Institute on Aging) Grant P01 AG17211 under the auspices of the Center for Research and Education on Aging and Technology Enhancement (CREATE; www.create-center.org). The report was inspired by our collaboration with Willow Garage (www.willowgarage.com) who selected the Georgia Institute of Technology as a beta PR2 site for research (www.willowgarage.com/blog/2010/06/07/spotlight-georgia-tech). This project is a collaborative research effort on human-robot interaction between the Human Factors and Aging Laboratory (Co-Directors Wendy A. Rogers and Arthur D. Fisk; www.hfaging.org) and the Healthcare Robotics Laboratory (Director: Charles C. Kemp; www.healthcare-robotics.com). Many thanks to the researchers in both laboratories for their contributions

Assisted driving of a mobile remote presence system: System design and controlled user evaluation

Abstract-As mobile remote presence (MRP) systems become more pervasive in everyday environments such as office spaces, it is important for operators to navigate through remote locations without running into obstacles. Human-populated environments frequently change (e.g., doors open and close, furniture is moved around) and mobile remote presence systems must be able to adapt to such changes and to avoid running into obstacles. As such, we implemented an assisted teleoperation feature for a MRP system and evaluated its effectiveness with a controlled user study, focusing on both the system-oriented dimensions (e.g., autonomous assistance vs. no assistance) and human-oriented dimensions (e.g., gaming experience, locus of control, and spatial cognitive abilities) (N=24). In a systems-only analysis, we found that the assisted teleoperation helped people avoid obstacles. However, assisted teleoperation also increased time to complete an obstacle course. When human-oriented dimensions were evaluated, gaming experience and locus of control affected speed of completing the course. Implications for future research and design are discussed

Understanding orchard mowing: Knowledge engineering project

This research was supported in part by Deere & Company