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User requirements for an emotion-intelligent autonomous care robot in long-term care
Marije Harmsen1,2, Esmee Adam3,4, Ellen Ricke3,4
1Department of Public Health and Primary Care, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, the Netherlands. m.harmsen@lumc.nl.
Aim:
To identify user requirements and stakeholders perspectives for the development and implementation of an autonomous emotion-intelligent robot in long-term care.
Findings:
The to-be-developed emotion-intelligent robot must meet the user requirements regarding prerequisites, functional capabilities, and physical appearance to enhance acceptance in long-term care. While the emotion-intelligent robot was seen as promising for companionship and for providing structure to care recipients, concerns about loss of personalized 'warm' care and reliability underscore the need for targeted education and phased implementation.
Message:
Autonomous emotion-intelligent robots may add value to daily long-term care practice for geriatric clinicians by complementing human care through enhanced independence, companionship, and person-centered support, provided successful adoption is ensured through attention to user requirements, ethical considerations, and clear communication, education, and phased integration strategies.
Purpose:
Growing care demands in long-term care (LTC), driven by aging populations and staff shortages, challenge the delivery of person‑centered care. Autonomous emotion intelligent (EI) robots, socially assistive robots that independently perform tasks and make context-aware decisions tailored to user needs, may address these challenges by supporting daily care. This study identified key user requirements for the development and future implementation of an EI robot in LTC, exploring expectations of care recipients, family caregivers, and healthcare professionals.
Methods:
A qualitative design with 13 focus groups and 20 interviews was employed. Data were collected in two iterative rounds. Thematic analysis was used for the analysis.
Results:
Participants were 4 people with dementia (mean age: 83.0 years), 7 people with intellectual disabilities (mean age: 32.9 years), 14 family caregivers (mean age: 63.3 years), and 32 HCPs (mean age: 38.6 years). The user requirements were clustered into three themes: (1) prerequisites (e.g., robustness, ease-of-use), (2) functional requirements (e.g., provide companionship, stimulate independence), and (3) physical appearance (e.g., user-specific customization, simple interface). Participants generally viewed the EI robot positively for its potential to provide companionship and structure to care recipients, but raised concerns about loss of 'warm' human care and its reliability. Participants indicated that successful implementation would require clear communication, targeted education, and a structured, step-by-step rollout.
Conclusion:
Our findings highlight a core tension between the desire for autonomy-enhancing support and concerns about relational quality, trustworthiness, and ethical boundaries. Addressing this tension will be essential for responsible development and implementation of autonomous EI robots in LTC.
