INTERACTION DESIGNER & RESEARCHER
PhD Candidate
Systemic Change, Industrial Design
Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e, the Netherlands)
ADDING A CONTEXT FOR HUAMN-ROBOT INTERACTION
Improving the quality of life of people with dementia in long-term care facilities is crucial and can be reached by designing engaging activities for the residents. The introduction of social robots to people with dementia has already proven its benefits, therefore, this project aim to investigate if adding a context to this interaction would enhance the engagement of people with dementia.
In this preliminary user study, a total of five participants took part in a comparison study in which they engaged in a free-play session with the robot PLEO and in a free-play session with the robot PLEO within a jungle-themed context. The gaze and arm/hand behaviors of the participants were measured and were used to determine the engagement of each participant for each session. The result of this study suggests a significant decrease in engagement for the sessions where the context was added to the interaction.