Older adults acceptance of SARs: The link between anticipated and actual interaction

Abstract: This study demonstrates how anticipated and actual interactions shape the QE of SARs among older adults. The study consisted of two parts: an online survey to explore the anticipated interaction through video viewing of a SAR and an acceptance study where older adults interacted with the robot. Both parts of this study were completed with the assistance of Gymmy, a robotic system that our lab developed for training older adults in physical and cognitive activities. Both study parts exhibited similar user responses, indicating that users acceptance of SARs can be predicted by their anticipated interaction. Index Terms: Aging, human-robot interaction, older adults, quality evaluation, socially assistive robots, technology acceptance, technophobia, trust, user experience.