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Robot Companions and Sensors for Better Living: Defining Needs to Empower Low Socio-economic Older Adults at Home

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Social Robotics (ICSR 2023)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNAI,volume 14453 ))

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Abstract

Population ageing has profound implications for economies and societies, demanding increased health and social services. The global older adult population is steadily growing, presenting challenges. Addressing this reality, investing in older adults’ healthcare means enhancing their well-being while minimizing expenditures. Strategies aim to support older adults at home, but resource disparities pose challenges. Importantly, socio-economic factors influence peoples’ quality of life and wellbeing, thus they are associated with specific needs. Socially Assistive Robots (SARs) and monitoring technologies (wearable and environmental sensors) hold promise in aiding daily life, with older adults showing willingness to embrace them, particularly if tailored to their needs. Despite research on perceptions of technology, the preferences and needs of socio-economically disadvantaged older adults remain underexplored. This study investigates how SARs and sensor technologies can aid low-income older adults, promoting independence and overall well-being. For this purpose, older adults (aged ≥ 65 years) with low income were recruited, and a series of focus groups were conducted to comprehend how these technologies could address their needs. Thematic analysis results highlighted five key dimensions, specifically: 1) promote and monitor an active lifestyle, 2) help with daily errands and provide physical assistance, 3) reduce isolation and loneliness, 4) considerations regarding monitoring technologies, and 5) barriers affecting SARs and monitoring technologies usage and acceptance. These dimensions should be considered during SARs and sensors design to effectively meet users’ requirements, enhance their quality of life, and support caregivers.

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Funding

This work was supported by the EPSRC and NIHR (grant number EP/W031809/1, IMACTIVE).

Open access. For the purpose of open access, the authors have applied a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) licence to any Author Accepted Manuscript version arising from this submission.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Sport, Health and Performance Enhancement Research Centre, Department of Sport Science, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, UK

    Roberto Vagnetti, Nicola Camp & Daniele Magistro

  2. Department of Computing and Advanced Wellbeing Research Centre, Sheffield Hallam University, Sheffield, UK

    Matthew Story, Joshua Bamforth & Alessandro Di Nuovo

  3. Wolfson School of Mechanical, Electrical and Manufacturing Engineering, Loughborough University, Loughborough, UK

    Khaoula Ait-Belaid & Massimiliano Zecca

  4. Department of Psychology, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, UK

    Suvo Mitra

Authors
  1. Roberto Vagnetti
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  2. Nicola Camp
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  3. Matthew Story
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  4. Khaoula Ait-Belaid
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  5. Joshua Bamforth
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  6. Massimiliano Zecca
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  7. Alessandro Di Nuovo
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  8. Suvo Mitra
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  9. Daniele Magistro
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Roberto Vagnetti .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Qatar University, Doha, Qatar

    Abdulaziz Al Ali

  2. Qatar University, Doha, Qatar

    John-John Cabibihan

  3. Qatar University, Doha, Qatar

    Nader Meskin

  4. University of Naples Federico II, Napoli, Italy

    Silvia Rossi

  5. Qingdao University, Qingdao, China

    Wanyue Jiang

  6. The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL, USA

    Hongsheng He

  7. National University of Singapore, Queenstown, Singapore

    Shuzhi Sam Ge

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© 2024 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

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Vagnetti, R. et al. (2024). Robot Companions and Sensors for Better Living: Defining Needs to Empower Low Socio-economic Older Adults at Home. In: Ali, A.A., et al. Social Robotics. ICSR 2023. Lecture Notes in Computer Science(), vol 14453 . Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-8715-3_31

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-8715-3_31

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore

  • Print ISBN: 978-981-99-8714-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-981-99-8715-3

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