Age-Related Differences in Fixation Pattern on a Companion Robot

Abstract

<jats:p>Recent studies have addressed the various benefits of companion robots and expanded the research scope to their design. However, the viewpoints of older adults have not been deeply investigated. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the distinctive viewpoints of older adults by comparing them with those of younger adults. Thirty-one older and thirty-one younger adults participated in an eye-tracking experiment to investigate their impressions of a bear-like robot mockup. They also completed interviews and surveys to help us understand their viewpoints on the robot design. The gaze behaviors and the impressions of the two groups were significantly different. Older adults focused significantly more on the robot’s face and paid little attention to the rest of the body. In contrast, the younger adults gazed at more body parts and viewed the robot in more detail than the older adults. Furthermore, the older adults rated physical attractiveness and social likeability of the robot significantly higher than the younger adults. The specific gaze behavior of the younger adults was linked to considerable negative feedback on the robot design. Based on these empirical findings, we recommend that impressions of older adults be considered when designing companion robots.</jats:p>

Living Lab-Based Service Interaction Design for a Companion Robot for Seniors in South Korea

“…In both the first and second experiments, the senior group tended to gaze at the robot's facial area for a longer duration than the control group. It was observed that the senior group, compared to the control group, showed a more prolonged gaze at the robot's facial area, concentrating their attention on the facial region rather than other areas of the robot (Table 6, Figure 9) [8]. Based on the experiments conducted prior to the eye-tracking experiment for prototype development, seniors showed a preference for teddy bear-like robots.…”

“…The role of robots is becoming increasingly important as technology supports the daily lives of seniors, leading to studies on this topic. Service experiences have been designed based on prior studies that focus on understanding the issues related to the usability, safety, and sensibility of robots while considering the physical and cognitive aging as well as emotional characteristics of seniors [3][4][5][6][7][8]. In particular, digital companion robots that perform various roles, such as emotionally communicating with seniors and taking necessary measures in emergency cases, are anticipated as service robots that will become a key necessity in the future.…”

A Review on Usability and User Experience of Assistive Social Robots for Older Persons

“…The user experience focuses on the cognitive, socio-cognitive and affective aspects that a person experiences when engaging with the robot, such as enjoyment, aesthetics and a desire for repeated use [71]. A recent study pointed that older persons are impressed with a robot that having physical attractiveness and social likeability [72].…”

Towards a Holistic Approach to Studying Human–Robot Interaction in Later Life

“…Robot attributes that affect user experience have also been studied extensively, including the robots' appearance, behavior, and functionality. Whereas users expressed a preference for clear distinction between humans and robots in terms of physical appearance (Walden et al, 2015), they tended to favor those who looked more like humans (Khosla et al, 2012), or displayed human-like features and gestures (Caleb-Solly et al, 2014), and focused significantly more on the robot's face and paid less attention to the rest of the body (Oh & Ju, 2020). In terms of behavior, users wanted robots to be social, intelligent, and spontaneous (Frennert et al, 2017;Tulsulkar et al, 2021), although there was some incongruity regarding the robots' playfulness.…”