Expanding a Pediatric Social Assistive Robotics Platform for Older Adult Care: A Usability Study in A Nursing Home

Abstract

The effectiveness of older adult care is one of the main challenges in healthcare as the world’s population ages. In this work, we present the application of a rehabilitation platform based on social assistive robotics, in which a humanoid robot acts as a co-therapist in sessions prescribed by clinical professionals. The platform, known as Inrobics Rehab, was originally developed as a research project focused on rehabilitation for pediatric patients with motor impairments. We propose extending this system to support physical and cognitive stimulation in older adults. A five-week evaluation was conducted with 10 residents of a nursing home, in which users participated in one-on-one therapy sessions with the robot twice a week. The study primarily assessed usability, user experience, social acceptance, and social impact using qualitative and quantitative methods. Results show that users found the platform easy to understand and use and maintained a high engagement during all the sessions of the study. The robot was accepted by older adult users, who expressed a desire to continue using the robot in their rehabilitation process. These findings highlight the feasibility of integrating this tool into the daily lives of the nursing home. Clinical outcomes were beyond the scope of this study and require further research, along with the system’s accessibility and adaptation to individual user capabilities.