Service Robots: Emotions of Older Adults in Different Situations

Against the background of demographic change and an expected shortage of skilled nursing staff, consideration is being given to whether robots will play a greater role to assist older adults in daily life activities and care personnel. Many models of Technology Acceptance do not focus on emotions of older adults triggered by service-type robots that support daily activities or care activities. The present simulated robot study investigated emotions of 142 older adults towards different robots in different situations to contribute to a deeper understanding of the acceptance of robots. The situation in which a robot interacts with a human affected the emotions of the older participants differently: in the service situation, less negative emotions were expressed than in the care situation. These results should be considered when developing service robots for older adults. The results should be validated with existing robots in real life.