Immersive participatory design of assistive robots to support older adults
研究将移动机器人Stretch嵌入一位行动障碍老年人家中四周，通过沉浸式参与式设计方法，与用户共同定制机器人，以支持日常活动，并提炼出可推广的机器人设计洞见。
Assistive robots have the potential to support independence, enhance safety, and lower healthcare costs for older adults, as well as alleviate the demands of their care partners. However, ensuring that these robots will effectively and reliably address end-user needs in the long term requires user-specific design factors to be considered during the robot development process. To identify these design factors, we embedded Stretch, a mobile manipulator created by Hello Robot Inc., in the home of an older adult with motor impairments and his care partner for four weeks to support them with everyday activities. An occupational therapist and a robotics engineer lived with them during this period, employing an immersive participatory design approach to co-design and customise the robot with them. We highlight the benefits of this immersive participatory design experience and provide insights into robot design that can be applied broadly to other assistive technologies.