This project investigates how interacting with a novel robotic object influences healthy older adults’ sense of being seen and validated, challenging the idea that companionship is merely a functional service and highlighting its deeper emotional dimensions.

What is it?


One of the challenges faced by healthy older adults is experiencing feelings of not “being-seen”: set aside and unacknowledged. Companion robots, commonly designed with zoomorphic or humanoid appearance show success among clinical older adults, but healthy older adults find them degrading and don’t accept companionship as a valid function. We present a novel non-humanoid robot, designed to overcome the low acceptance of companion robots. The robot’s design represents its primary function, a cognitive word game. Social interaction is conveyed as a secondary function, using non-verbal gestures, inspired by dancers’ movement. 39 healthy older adults interacted with the prototype in 3 conditions: Companion-Function; Game-Function; or No-Function. Results show the non-verbal gestures successfully evoked feelings of “being-seen”, and acceptance levels were influenced by the function, with game significantly higher than companion. We conclude that the high acceptance and rich social interaction of non-humanoid robots are a promising direction for this unique population..