Abstract
The adoption of robot technology is accelerating in healthcare settings. Care robots can support and extend the work of caregivers in assisting patients, elderly or children. Typical examples of such systems are ‘cognitive therapeutic robots,’ ‘physical rehabilitation robots,’ ‘assistive and lifting robots.’ Although these robots might reduce the workload of care workers, and be a cost-efficient solution against healthcare system cuts, the insertion of such technologies may also raise ethical, legal and societal concerns concerning users. In this article, we describe some of these concerns, including cognitive safety, prospective liability, and privacy. We argue that the current regulatory framework for care robot technology is ill-prepared to address such multidisciplinary concerns because it only focuses on physical safety requirements, whereas it disregards other issues arising from the human–robot interaction. We support the idea that design plays a significant role in shaping the technology to meet the needs of the users and the goals set by the regulation. To illustrate practical challenges, in this article we consider as an example the case of lower-limb exoskeletons. This example helps illuminate the overarching idea of the article, that is, that regulation, design, and human needs need to intertwine and mutually shape each other to serve the solutions these technologies proclaim.
Highlights
The adoption of robot technology in healthcare settings is accelerating
Building on the analysis of the legal and regulatory implications of personal care robot technology in previous related work [5], in this article we argue that the current regulatory framework for care robot technology is ill-prepared to address such multidisciplinary concerns because it only focuses on physical safety requirements, whereas it disregards other issues arising from the human–robot interaction
We described a human–robot interaction that has scarcely been covered in the HRI literature, that is, the interaction of lower-limb exoskeletons and its users
Summary
The adoption of robot technology in healthcare settings is accelerating. Typically named ‘healthcare robots,’ ‘care robots’ or ‘carebots,’ these robots are service robots that perform useful tasks for humans by processing of information acquired through sensors, in the context of healthcare. Lowerlimb exoskeletons are physical assistant robotic devices that can be fastened to the human body to provide augmentation or supplementation of personal capabilities [11] These devices represent a great example of the intertwinement between humans and technology and help illuminate the overarching idea of the article, that is, that regulation, design, and human needs need to intertwine and mutually shape each other to serve the solutions these technologies proclaim. Building on the analysis of the legal and regulatory implications of personal care robot technology in previous related work [5], in this article we argue that the current regulatory framework for care robot technology is ill-prepared to address such multidisciplinary concerns because it only focuses on physical safety requirements, whereas it disregards other issues arising from the human–robot interaction.
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