A participatory design project to evaluate benefits and workload costs for a domestic assistive robot

Abstract

Introduction Assistive robots have the potential to support independence, enhance safety, and lower healthcare costs for older adults with mobility limitations, as well as to alleviate the demands of their care partners. Challenges affecting the acceptability of these robots are issues related to usability, particularly the inherent workload that could be involved in controlling the robot. Using a participatory design approach, we assessed the feasibility of using a robot in a case study focused on supporting a person with mobility limitation and his care partner. We focused on the utility and benefits of using a robot to support care recipients and their care partners in performing their everyday activities. We identified the workload challenges involved in using the robot to carry out these activities while iteratively co-designing intervention strategies with the users to overcome these challenges.