ABSTRACT

Bathing robots have the potential to foster the independence of older adults who require assistance with bathing. Making human-robot interaction (HRI) for older persons as easy, effective, and user-satisfying as possible is, however, a major challenge in the development of such robots. The study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness (coverage, step effectiveness) and user satisfaction (After-Scenario Questionnaire, ASQ) with three operation modes (autonomous operation, shared control, tele-manipulation) for the HRI with a bathing robot in potential users. Twenty-five older adults who require bathing assistance tested these operation modes in a water rinsing task for the upper back. Autonomous operation led to maximum effectiveness (100%), which was significantly worse in the shared control (51.6–79.4%, p ≤ 0.001) and tele-manipulation mode (43.9–64.4%, p < .001). In the user-controlled modes, effectiveness decreased with decreasing robot assistance (shared control: 51.6–79.4% vs. tele-manipulation: 43.9–64.4%, p = 0.009–0.016). User satisfaction with the autonomous operation (ASQ: 2.0 ± 1.0pt.) was higher than with the tele-manipulation mode (ASQ: 3.0 ± 1.4pt., p = 0.003) and in trend also than with the shared control mode (ASQ: 2.5 ± 1.5pt., p = 0.071). Our study suggests that for an effective and highly satisfying HRI with a bathing robot in older users, operation modes with high robot autonomy requiring a minimum of user input seem to be necessary.

摘要

沐浴机器人有可能培养需要洗澡帮助的老年人的独立性。然而，使老年人的人机交互 (HRI) 尽可能简单、有效和用户满意是此类机器人开发的主要挑战。该研究旨在评估具有沐浴机器人的 HRI 在潜在用户中使用三种操作模式（自主操作、共享控制、远程操作）的有效性（覆盖率、步骤有效性）和用户满意度（情景后问卷调查，ASQ）。25 名需要洗澡帮助的老年人在上背部的水冲洗任务中测试了这些操作模式。自主操作导致最大效率（100%），在共享控制中明显更差（51.6-79.4%，p≤ 0.001) 和远程操作模式 (43.9–64.4%, p < .001)。在用户控制模式下，有效性随着机器人辅助的减少而降低（共享控制：51.6-79.4% 与远程操作：43.9-64.4%，p = 0.009-0.016）。用户对自主操作的满意度 (ASQ: 2.0 ± 1.0pt.) 高于远程操作模式 (ASQ: 3.0 ± 1.4pt., p = 0.003)，并且趋势也高于共享控制模式 (ASQ: 2.5 ± 1.5pt.，p = 0.071）。我们的研究表明，对于老年用户使用沐浴机器人的有效且高度满意的 HRI，具有高度机器人自主性的操作模式似乎需要最少的用户输入。