Designing user-centered policy for social robotics: policy analysis and consultation with the aging and dementia...

Social robots are a promising assistive technology to support older adults in home and healthcare environments. Engaging end-users in all stages of social robot research, development, and deployment is critical to adoption. However, the voices of end-users are missing from policies about social robots. This work consults with end-users of social robots to capture their perspectives on social robot policies and co-create expert-driven policy recommendations to guide the future implementation of social robots for aging.

In this two-part study, we performed a content analysis of n = 47 international policies on social robotics followed by seventeen semi-structured interviews with experts on aging and dementia from both professional (n = 6) and lived experience (n = 11) perspectives to capture their opinions about social robot policies.

Our analysis highlights alignments between social robot policy recommendations and perspectives of the dementia community including upholding respect for human rights and dignity, the need for clear and consistent regulation, and the need for public engagement. Participants further recommended that policies should prioritize cost and accessibility considerations and focus on aging- and dementia-specific considerations. Participants reported that the responsibility for social robot policy development lay primarily with governments and the healthcare sector. Increased consultation with end-users, minority groups and medical professionals was suggested for future policy development.

Findings contribute to the ethical co-creation of social robots as assistive technologies for older adults and provide actionable steps for the development of policies that reflect the values and perspectives of end-users.