Effects of Robotic Touch on Older Users During Walking Guidance by a Humanoid Robot

The shortage of healthcare staff is a challenge in geriatric care. To address this, robots can be integrated into care settings to provide assistance and emotional support. A promising application is walking guidance, particularly benefiting older adults as navigation skills deteriorate with aging. As walking guidance involves direct contact, the aim of this study is to understand how older adults perceive and respond to different touch modes during guided walking. 24 older adults (68 - 88 yrs.) walked four times a ten-meter trajectory guided by the robot TIAGo Pro in four contact conditions: no physical contact (NC); physical contact through holding the robot's wrist with the hand (HH); physical interaction through linking arms with the robot (LA); and physical contact through resting the forearm on the robots forearm (FC). A multimodal assessment approach included electrocardiogram, electrodermal activity, contact force, distance to robot, and questionnaires. Physiological results reveal a slight increase in stress levels during robot interaction. Behavioural and subjective measures, however, show overall acceptance of robotic touch. The two conditions corresponding to larger interaction forces (HH and FC) were associated with lower relative distances between participant and robot, indicating a higher trust and confidence. Questionnaire responses supported these findings, evidencing greater perceived safety, trust and comfort in these conditions. This study provides insights for the design of robotic walking guidance assistance, indicating that gentle, stable touch is preferred by older adults in comparison to contactless interaction.

Perception of Social Robots as Communication Partners in Healthcare for Older Adults

Addressing the global caregiver shortage through socially assistive robots necessitates a deep understanding of their psychological and physiological impacts on older adults during human-robot interaction (HRI). This study addresses whether social robots can serve as effective interaction partners compared to humans, and if "positive prompts" can similarly enhance these interactions. We conducted a comparative study with 35 participants (aged 70+). Our multi-modal analysis, integrating facial expression data, heart rate variability, and subjective questionnaires, revealed no significant differences in overall stress levels between human and robot interactions. Facial expression analysis confirmed that the robot was accepted as a valid interaction partner, while physiological data showed slightly lower heart rates during robot interactions, suggesting a more relaxed state compared to human-led sessions. These findings indicate that social robots can engage older adults without inducing psychological strain and are capable of alleviating caregiver burden by performing structured tasks, such as health-sensing surveys. Future work should address the identified "appearance-content mismatch" in robot design to facilitate even more natural and effective interactions.