Service Robotics in Healthcare: A Perspective for Information Systems Researchers?

Abstract

Recent advances in electronics and telecommunication have paved the way for service robots to enter the clinical world. While service robotics has long been a core research theme in computer science and other engineering-related fields, it has attracted little interest of Information Systems (IS) researchers so far. We argue that service robotics represents an interesting area of investigation, especially for healthcare, since current research lacks a thorough examination of socio-technical problems and contextual influencing factors. This study identifies current research thrusts and delineates possible areas for theoretical, empirical, or design-oriented research for IS scholars. By means of a systematic literature review, we explore the current use, users, and utility of service robots in healthcare. Based on these findings, we suggest research topics that have the potential to be of practical significance. Our aim is to make substantive steps towards establishing service robotics as new research theme in information systems research.