Robot-Accompanied Walking (RAW) Activity for Older Adults – A Qualitative Study on Wellbeing and Robot Literacy

Abstract

Robot literacy (RL) refers to the ability to interact with robots, understand their functions, and reflect on their ethical implications. RL is important for people of all ages, as robots have already entered humans’ lives in many sectors. One We present “Robowalk,” a robot-accompanied walking (RAW) activity to support older adults’ robot literacy and wellbeing. In workshops with 14 older adults (aged 75+) across two care homes, we co-ideated Robowalk and piloted it outdoors using the Boston Dynamics Spot robot. Our qualitative analysis indicates that RAW was experienced as stimulating, social and educational. Participants became curious about robots’ capabilities, envisioned potential uses in several contexts and reflected on broader societal issues. As a contribution for practitioners, we designed canvas tools, a Planning Canvas to structure RAW activities, and an Activity Bank inspire tasks that address robot literacy and wellbeing of older adults. These tools highlight accessibility issues and propose robots as effective icebreakers.