[Autonomous assitive robots for older people at home: An exploratory study : "He is always there for me-and I for him...

The use of autonomous assistive robots in the domestic environment of old people and the possible effects on the quality of life is a relatively new field of research. Given the relatively limited technical robustness of these robots, autonomous assistive robots have only rarely been tested in real life situations; therefore, valid data in this field are very limited. This article reports on one of these rare exploratory trials in the domestic setting and examines the following questions: will people older than 60 years perceive living with an autonomous robot as a benefit or a burden? What impact could assistive robots have on the quality of life and loneliness? To explore the socioscientific aspects of these research questions, an autonomous robot was developed for use in private homes. The robot can move and approach people independently and accompany them through their daily lives. The robot was tested in 20 households of older people over 5 days without surveillance by members of the project. This evaluation investigated how old people experienced the robot in their homes and what effect it had on their daily routine and quality of life. The predominantly qualitative results demonstrated that the autonomous assistive SYMPARTNER robot was primarily received positively and it was considered to improve participants' daily life and mitigate the negative effects of living alone. The presented findings were derived from the 3‑year project "SYMPARTNER" (2016-2019) funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF).