Identifying Specific Reasons Behind Unmet Needs May Inform More Specific Eldercare Robot Design

Abstract

Many countries are facing aging and aged populations and a shortage of eldercare resources. Eldercare robots have been proposed to help close this resource gap. Prevalence of eldercare robots may be enhanced by more acceptable robot design. Current assistive robot design guidelines are general and consequently difficult to translate into specific acceptable design. This paper proposes a method for developing more specific eldercare robot design guidelines. Technology acceptance models suggest acceptable robots need to be perceived as useful as well as easy to use. As older people often have high levels of unmet need, knowledge of the needs of older people and other eldercare stakeholders can suggest how robots could be usefully deployed. It is further proposed that determining the specific reasons why eldercare-needs are unmet may help lead to more specific design guidelines for eldercare robot form and function, as well as the design of robot marketing, distribution and deployment strategies.