2025/09/10 by Angela Higgins, Higgins, Angela, Stephen Potter +11
Computer Science · Psychology · #FOS: Computer and information sciences #Innovative Human-Technology Interaction #Persona Design and Applications #Robotics (cs.RO) #Social Robot Interaction and HRI
paper · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2509.08510
openalex publication_date 2025/09/10 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/29
While assistive robots have much potential to help older people with frailty-related needs, there are few in use. There is a gap between what is developed in laboratories and what would be viable in real-world contexts. Through a series of co-design workshops (61 participants across 7 sessions) including those with lived experience of frailty, their carers, and healthcare professionals, we gained a deeper understanding of everyday issues concerning the place of new technologies in their lives. A persona-based approach surfaced emotional, social, and psychological issues. Any assistive solution must be developed in the context of this complex interplay of psychosocial and environmental factors. Our findings, presented as design requirements in direct relation to frailty, can help promote design thinking that addresses people's needs in a more pragmatic way to move assistive robotics closer to real-world use.