The robotic takeover of healthcare has not been quite as pronounced as perhaps the more enthusiastic commentators predicted a few years ago, but there is a trickle of use cases around the world.  Gaining acceptance from the public is key to widespread adoption, and new research from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology’s (NTNU) highlights the progress still required to secure that buy-in.

The researchers assessed the reaction of children aged between 6 and 13 to three different robots, including the popular Pepper robot, as well as the flowerpot-styled Tessa, and AV1, which I wrote about a few years ago.

“Our analysis is based on quantitative survey data from the children about the robots and on qualitative discussions with them at the research fair. By comparing three different types of social robots, we found that their presence can be understood differently based on their function, design and ‘aliveness,'” the researchers explain.

Uncertain reactions

The children appeared most sceptical of the Pepper robot, who they thought was somewhat scary.  The researchers suggest that this might be due to the size of Pepper, which is often the same height as the children.  The reaction was generally positive, however, when the robot had a clear task to perform.

“When the robots have a clear task, like Tessa the flower pot robot and AV1 the teaching robot, they become less intimidating and easier to relate to since we can more readily understand what their task is.” the researchers say.

What was perhaps most interesting, however, is that while the children were broadly positive about the role the robots could play in caring for older people, they were less keen to submit their own grandparents to robotic care.

“This difference could potentially be explained by how the children perceive their own grandparents as relatively fit,” the researchers suggest.

This tended to change for great-grandparents, however, whom the children thought could benefit from robotic support, especially in helping them to remember things and generally maintain an active lifestyle.

It turned out that the children were most positive about the flower pot robot Tessa as a helpful tool. More than 97 per cent agreed that Tessa could help the elderly and 86 per cent thought that Tessa would be a useful feature in their own grandparents’ house as well.

The children liked the idea of a talking flower pot or robotic plant that had the specific task of reminding the elderly of meals and other activities.