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Needs and attitudes of Singaporeans towards home service robots: a multi-generational perspective

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Abstract

The paper presents a study aiming to assess how users belonging to different generations perceive service robots in the home context, in order to gain insights of multiple aspects of user needs and attitudes towards robots as to inform the design of robots that are universally acceptable. Surveys with 30 subjects from 10 Singaporean families were conducted. These subjects belonged to three generations, namely young adults, working adults, and elderly people. The survey had two phases; during the first phase, interviews were conducted in users’ homes to assess their general attitudes and preferences of service robots. The second phase involved an interaction process between the users and a prototype robot in a simulated smart home environment. Users’ feedback was collected according to multiple aspects of robot usability and acceptability. It was found that users of all ages were wishing for service robots to help handle home chores, and they expected the robot to complete the task with good reliability and efficiency. However, users of different age groups showed different patterns of concerns over robot usage. A multi-generational perspective is helpful to understand users’ needs and attitudes that reflect age differences. It also provides insights into how members of a family share attitudes towards robots.

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  1. Institute for Infocomm Research, Agency for Science, Technology and Research, 1 Fusionopolis Way, #21-01 Connexis, Singapore, 138632, Singapore

    Qianli Xu, Jamie S. L. Ng, Odelia Y. Tan & Zhiyong Huang

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  1. Qianli Xu
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Correspondence to Qianli Xu.

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Xu, Q., Ng, J.S.L., Tan, O.Y. et al. Needs and attitudes of Singaporeans towards home service robots: a multi-generational perspective. Univ Access Inf Soc 14, 477–486 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10209-014-0355-2

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