Design of the companion robot interaction for supporting major tasks of the elderly

Abstract

This research aims to develop the companion robot experience design optimized for supporting living tasks of the elderly in Korea. First, Elder users' main needs were categorized into 4 groups based on ethnographic research. Second, the functional elements and physical actuators of robot were mapped to user needs in function-needs deploy matrix. The final UX design of companion robot was derived as a verbal non-touch multi modal interface with emotional facial expression. Usability test of the interface was conducted targeting 8 elderly users and users' response and acceptance was positive.