@inproceedings{hebesberger2016lessons,
abstract = {The eldercare sector is a promising deployment area for robotics, where robots can support staff and help to bridge the predicted staff-shortage in this sector. Requirement analysis showed that one field of robot-deployment can be supporting physical therapy of older adults with advanced dementia. To explore this possibility, a long-term autonomous robot was deployed as a walking group assistant at a care site for the first time. For a month the robot accompanied two weekly walking groups, offering visual and acoustical stimulation. Therapists’ experience, the robot’s influence on the dynamic of the group and the therapists’ estimation of the robot’s utility were assessed using a mixed methods design consisting of observations, interviews and rating scales. Data collection started two weeks prior to and ended one week after the robot’s deployment. Effects found during the sessions thus could be traced back to the presence of the robot. Evaluation results of this first real-world deployment in such a context are presented. Findings suggest that a robot has the potential to enhance motivation of participants suffering from dementia, group coherence and also mood within the walking group. Furthermore, it was found that older adults show curiosity and openness towards the deployed robot. But it was also found that the therapists’ perception of this robot task depends very much on the reliable functioning of the robot. Technical problems quickly turn the robot from a useful assistant to a source of additional workload and exhaustion for therapists.},
author = {Hebesberger, Denise and Dondrup, Christian and K\"{o}rtner, Tobias and Gisinger, Christoph and Pripfl, J\"{u}rgen},
booktitle = {11th ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction (HRI)"},
title = {{Lessons learned from the deployment of a long-term autonomous robot as companion in physical therapy for older adults with dementia - A Mixed Methods Study}},
year = {2016}
}