Patrizia Marti

Assistive technology design and development for acceptable robotics companions for ageing years

Abstract A new stream of research and development responds to changes in life expectancy across the world. It includes technologies which enhance well-being of individuals, specifically for older people. The ACCOMPANY project focuses on home companion technologies and issues surrounding technology development for assistive purposes. The project responds to some overlooked aspects of technology design, divided into multiple areas such as empathic and social human-robot interaction, robot learning and memory visualisation, and monitoring persons’ activities at home. To bring these aspects together, a dedicated task is identified to ensure technological integration of these multiple approaches on an existing robotic platform, Care-O-Bot®3 in the context of a smart-home environment utilising a multitude of sensor arrays. Formative and summative evaluation cycles are then used to assess the emerging prototype towards identifying acceptable behaviours and roles for the robot, for example role as a butler or a trainer, while also comparing user requirements to achieved progress. In a novel approach, the project considers ethical concerns and by highlighting principles such as autonomy, independence, enablement, safety and privacy, it embarks on providing a discussion medium where user views on these principles and the existing tension between some of these principles, for example tension between privacy and autonomy over safety, can be captured and considered in design cycles and throughout project developments.

Engaging older people with participatory design

We present a design case focusing on participatory design (PD) with older people. We experimented with PD techniques to foster engagement with participants in development of a graphical user interface (GUI) for controlling a robotic system in a smart home environment. The tenet of our approach is that to engage older people in the design of future systems, it is of paramount importance to increment and reinforce knowledge using different techniques and materials, and to create an empathic and trusted relationship between participants and designers. We experimented with different techniques for achieving this, from video-based scenario evaluation to hands-on and gaming activity in which participants had to evaluate the dynamics of a context-dependent interface using an expression-rich modality of interaction. This permitted exploration of experiential elements of design, to reduce the need for the participants to engage in abstract thought and to collect insights on design solutions while having fun together. The entire procedure implied incremental PD cycles in which knowledge was shared and consolidated through a learning process based on doing and playing together. The final reflections highlight a number of recommendations that demand consideration when undertaking research and design work with older people.

Rapping dyslexia: learning rhythm, rhyme and flow in dyslexic children

The paper presents a design case that draws inspiration from rap music as a way to tell stories rhythmically, with simple instruments for accompaniment. Rhythm, rhymes and flow are key features of rap music. In this study, we attempted to apply rap principles and dynamics to a very specific field of application: the treatment of dyslexia. Our hypothesis is that fast, fun, bodily music could compensate the cognitive treatment usually used in dyslexia therapy, and avoid the need for children to engage in abstract cognitive exercises that are often frustrating and result in a lack of motivation. The paper describes the incremental prototyping process carried out to design the activity and the musical instruments used to experiment with rap music in therapeutic sessions. In particular, we designed a DJ console and a beat amplifier made of reused cardboard, wearable sensors and open-source software. Rapid prototyping and rapid re-adaptation of the systems material and technological components allowed us not only to fine-tune the tools but also to generate new knowledge about the behaviour of people with dyslexia and raise new questions for study.

Instilling cultural values through bodily engagement with human rights

The paper presents vision, approach and outcomes of Light through Culture, an international design school that aims at weaving, through design, innovative technologies and culture into a new canvas for making and thinking [6]. In this paper we present in particular the second edition of the school that explored the theme of human rights and designed ways of eliciting the exposure of their violation, with the realization of an experiential path through five interactive spaces, in an exhibition called Experiencing Human Rights. The students built this interactive path to elicit a rich experience and unfold new opportunities for meaning to be elaborated by visitors. Story telling was used, as a way of creating a holistic experience that was not just based on the narration of facts but also exploited feelings and deep cultural values through embodied interaction. Based on the students craftsmanship and their different cultural and educational backgrounds, they opened up a reflection on human rights, both in their own process, as well as for the visitors during the exhibition. The students learning activity held Making in its core, and students were encouraged, through cycles of reflection-on-action, to develop their personal point of view, to take responsibility for it and present the designed exhibition to the visitors, inviting them to be bodily engaged and to reflection.

Move to be Moved

Movement-based design is reaching critical mass in HCI, and we can start to identify strategies, similarities and differences in how it is approached. Similarities may include, for example, a strong first person perspective on design, emphasising movement, somatics and aesthetic sensibilities of the designer, as well as starting from the premise that our bodily ways of being in the world are shaped by the ecologies of people, cultural practices and the artefacts we create and use. Different classes of systems are starting to emerge, such as spurring somaesthetic appreciation processes using biofeedback loops or carefully nudging us to interact with our own movements; engaging us in affective loops where the technology takes on a stronger agency, attempting to pull participants into particular experiences; extending on our senses and perception -- even creating new senses through technology; social interactions, engaging us to jointly explore movement or touch; even endowing machines with their own somatics, exploring our relationship to technology; as well as engaging in larger political issues around the body, such as gender perspectives, or challenging the mind-body divide.

Evaluating the Experience of Use of a Squeezable Interface

The paper presents the user experience evaluation of Squeeze Me, an interactive cover for tablet and smartphone that enables continuous and expressive interaction with electronic devices. The cover is made of a soft rubbery material that embeds pressure sensors and electronics. It can be squeezed with both hands. The intensity of the input is reflected in the output. So far, two applications of Squeeze Me have been implemented: an interface to control the movements of a domestic robot in a smart environment, and a mobile application that makes it possible to zoom in and out while taking a photograph, without removing the hands from the tablet. Both applications have been evaluated with users. This paper focuses on testing the zooming application. The test was conducted involving 67 people. Their experience of use was evaluated using AttrakDiff [1], a questionnaire that measures hedonic stimulation and identity, as well as pragmatic qualities of software products. Users were asked to try out three interaction modalities for comparison: squeeze to zoom, pinch to zoom and slide to zoom. Results reveal that Squeeze to zoom is significantly more appreciated for its hedonic qualities. The paper concludes with a reflection on the potential and possible applications of Squeeze Me technology.

A multi-perspective evaluation of a service robot for seniors: the voice of different stakeholders

Abstract Purpose: The potential of service robots for seniors is given increasing attention as the ageing population in Western countries will continue to grow as well as the demand for home care. In order to capture the experience of living with a robot at home, a multi-perspective evaluation was conducted. Methods: Older adults (nu2009=u200910) were invited to execute an actual interaction scenario with the Care-O-bot® robot in a home-like environment and were questioned about their experiences. Additionally, interviews were conducted with the elderly participants, informal carers (nu2009=u20097) and professional caregivers (nu2009=u200911). Results: Seniors showed to be more keen to accept the robot than their caregivers and relatives. However, the robot in its current form was found to be too limited and participants wished the robot could perform more complex tasks. In order to be acceptable a future robot should execute these complex tasks based on the personal preferences of the user which would require the robot to be flexible and extremely smart, comparable to the care that is delivered by a human carer. Conclusions: Developing the functional features to perform activities is not the only challenge in robot development that deserves the attention of robot developers. The development of social behaviour and skills should be addressed as well. This is possible adopting a person-centred design approach, which relies on validation activities with actual users in realistic environments, similar to those described in this paper. Implications for rehabilitation Attitude of older adults towards service robots Potential of service robotsfor older adults

Ballade of Women: The Expedition

This video illustrates the exhibition Ballade of Women that took places in Siena at the Fondazione Monte de Paschi in June 2014. The exhibition is, and elicits, a reflection on womens rights: self-determination, emancipation and habeas corpus. It is an exploration on how these themes are represented and perceived in a dialogue between materiality and online content. The exhibition contains an interactive installation, which plays with the concept of fragmentation. It shows how complex and articulated such themes are. This it achieves by actively engaging visitors in a dynamic visual and auditory conversation. The video [1] documents the complete experience of the exhibition.

Robots supporting play for children with physical disabilities: Exploring the potential of IROMEC

BACKGROUND: Play is essential for childrens development. Children with severe physical disabilities often experience problems engaging in play. In rehabilitation and special education for children with physical disabilities play-like activities and play for plays sake are important. OBJECTIVE: The current study aimed at examining the possibilities of using the IROMEC robot in rehabilitation and special education for children with severe physical disabilities. METHODS: A mixed methods approach, using individual interviews, two rounds of focus group interviews, a questionnaire and a final session to reach consensus, was used to examine the match between the goals in therapy and special education and the IROMEC robot. RESULTS: The existing play scenarios of IROMEC have the potential to support play for children with severe physical disabilities, especially in the domains of movement functions, learning and applying knowledge, communication/interpersonal interactions and relationships, and play. CONCLUSIONS: The current study helped to build a body of evidence to the possibilities of the IROMEC robot. The results of this study can be used to further develop meaningful robotic play interventions for children with severe physical disabilities.

Social and empathic behaviours: Novel interfaces and interaction modalities

This paper describes the results of a research conducted in the European project Accompany, whose aim is to provide older people with services in a motivating and socially acceptable manner to facilitate independent living at home. The project developed a system consisting of a robotic companion, Care-O-bot, as part of a smart environment. An intensive research was conducted to investigate and experiment with robot behaviours that trigger empathic exchanges between an older person and the robot. The paper is articulated in two parts. The first part illustrates the theory that inspired the development of a context-aware Graphical User Interface (GUI) used to interact with the robot. The GUI integrates an expressive mask allowing perspective taking with the aim to stimulate empathic exchanges. The second part focuses on the user evaluation, and reports the outcomes from three different tests. The results of the first two tests show a positive acceptance of the GUI by the older people. The final test reports qualitative comments by senior participants on the occurrence of empathic exchanges with the robot.