Healthcare workers more amenable to ‘softer, slower’ robot models joining the staff, study shows

McKnight’s Senior Living December 8, 2023
Aaron Dorman

Perceptions of robots in senior living and other environments could change not just by how such models are used, but also by how they appear.

Robots composed with “soft, flexible” parts and materials are viewed more favorably — and as less of an existential threat to employees — than their hard-body counterparts, a new study shows.

There is ongoing concern about how robots are used in senior living settings, and whether wider adoption of robotic units, which can accomplish tasks as varied as cleaning and lifting residents, will end up supplanting human staff.

Study participants viewed a video of a “soft” robot – one made of materials like rubber and various fabrics – working alongside a human. After...

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