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A Study on the Design of Companion Robots Preferred by the Elderly

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Advances in Human Factors in Robots and Unmanned Systems (AHFE 2019)

Part of the book series: Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing ((AISC,volume 962))

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Abstract

As the elderly population grows rapidly, companion robots have attracted attention as a technological solution for problems faced by the elderly. Although the design elements of companion robots have influenced their usability, there remains a lack of relevant research. Therefore, this paper aims to extend our understanding of the design elements of companion robots preferred by the elderly. We conducted experiments on what types, weight, and materials are preferred for the elderly aged 50–64. Furthermore, we analyzed whether there were statistically significant differences in design preferences according to gender, living arrangement, and age. Consequently, the preference of the female elderly for robots over 2 kg was observed to be significantly lower. Additionally, elderly people living alone preferred synthetic fur over elderly people living with others. In conclusion, it was found that the specific weight and material of the companion robot affects the preference of elderly people.

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Acknowledgement

This research was supported by Research Program To Solve Social Issues of the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Science and ICT (NRF-2017M3C8A8091770). This research was supported by the MIST (Ministry of Science and ICT), Korea, under the “ICT Consilience Creative Program” (IITP-2018-2017-0-01015) supervised by the IITP (Institute for Information & communications Technology Promotion). We are particularly grateful for the assistance given by Jaewoong Kim and Su Wan Park.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Creative Technology Management, Underwood International College, Yonsei University, Seoul, South Korea

    Soo Yeon Kim

  2. School of Integrated Technology, Yonsei Institute of Convergence Technology, Yonsei University, Incheon, South Korea

    Young Hoon Oh

  3. Technology and Design Research Center, Yonsei Institute of Convergence Technology, Yonsei University, Incheon, South Korea

    Da Young Ju

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  1. Soo Yeon Kim
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  2. Young Hoon Oh
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  3. Da Young Ju
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Correspondence to Da Young Ju .

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  1. U.S. Army Research Laboratory, Orlando, FL, USA

    Jessie Chen

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Kim, S.Y., Oh, Y.H., Ju, D.Y. (2020). A Study on the Design of Companion Robots Preferred by the Elderly. In: Chen, J. (eds) Advances in Human Factors in Robots and Unmanned Systems. AHFE 2019. Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing, vol 962. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-20467-9_10

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