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A socially assistive robot exercise coach for the elderly

Authors: Juan Fasola, Maja J MatarićAuthors Info & Claims

Journal of Human-Robot Interaction, Volume 2, Issue 2

Pages 3 - 32

https://doi.org/10.5898/JHRI.2.2.Fasola

Published: 18 June 2013 Publication History

Abstract

We present a socially assistive robot (SAR) system designed to engage elderly users in physical exercise. We discuss the system approach, design methodology, and implementation details, which incorporate insights from psychology research on intrinsic motivation, and we present five clear design principles for SAR-based therapeutic interventions. We then describe the system evaluation, consisting of a multi-session user study with older adults (n = 33), to evaluate the effectiveness of our SAR exercise system and to investigate the role of embodiment by comparing user evaluations of similar physically and virtually embodied coaches. The results validate the system approach and effectiveness at motivating physical exercise in older adults according to a variety of user performance and outcomes measures. The results also show a clear preference by older adults for the physically embodied robot coach over the virtual coach in terms of enjoyableness, helpfulness, and social attraction, among other factors.

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Index Terms

A socially assistive robot exercise coach for the elderly
1. Computer systems organization
  1. Embedded and cyber-physical systems
    1. Robotics

Index terms have been assigned to the content through auto-classification.

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cover image Journal of Human-Robot Interaction

Journal of Human-Robot Interaction Volume 2, Issue 2

Special Issue on Technical and Social Advances in HRI: An Invitational Issue of JHRI

June 2013

129 pages

EISSN:2163-0364

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Journal of Human-Robot Interaction Steering Committee

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Published: 18 June 2013

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Cited By

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https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3648536.3648540
Collyer-Hoar GRubegni EMalinverni LYip J(2024)"It's kind of weird talking to a sphere": Exploring Children's Hopes and Fears on Social Robot Morphology Using Speculative Research MethodsProceedings of the 2024 ACM Designing Interactive Systems Conference10.1145/3643834.3661526(276-288)Online publication date: 1-Jul-2024
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Passler Bates DDudek SBerzuk JGonzález AYoung J(2024)SnuggleBot the Companion: Exploring In-Home Robot Interaction Strategies to Support Coping With LonelinessProceedings of the 2024 ACM Designing Interactive Systems Conference10.1145/3643834.3660702(2972-2986)Online publication date: 1-Jul-2024
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Wang ZReisert PNichols EGomez RGrollman DBroadbent EJu WSoh HWilliams T(2024)Ain't Misbehavin' - Using LLMs to Generate Expressive Robot Behavior in Conversations with the Tabletop Robot HaruCompanion of the 2024 ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction10.1145/3610978.3640562(1105-1109)Online publication date: 11-Mar-2024
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Bouzida AKubota ACruz-Sandoval DTwamley ERiek LGrollman DBroadbent EJu WSoh HWilliams T(2024)CARMEN: A Cognitively Assistive Robot for Personalized Neurorehabilitation at HomeProceedings of the 2024 ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction10.1145/3610977.3634971(55-64)Online publication date: 11-Mar-2024
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Axelsson MSpitale MGunes HCastellano GRiek LCakmak MLeite I(2023)Adaptive Robotic Mental Well-being CoachesCompanion of the 2023 ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction10.1145/3568294.3579968(733-735)Online publication date: 13-Mar-2023
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Antony VCho SHuang CCastellano GRiek LCakmak MLeite I(2023)Co-Designing with Older Adults, for Older AdultsProceedings of the 2023 ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction10.1145/3568162.3576995(506-515)Online publication date: 13-Mar-2023
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