Burcu Aysen Urgen and colleagues have published “Understanding Older Adults’ And Caretakers’ Attitudes Toward Social Robots Using Natural Language Processing and Thematic Analysis” in International Journal of Social Robotics (October 2026).
The researchers interviewed 30 older adults and caretakers about three social robots: the pet-like Aibo, the toy-like Paro and the humanoid Pepper. Sentiment and thematic analysis of their answers showed that caretakers were negative toward Paro and positive toward Aibo and Pepper. The findings can guide how social robots are designed and introduced into elder care.
Authors: Begüm Çonka, Burcu Aysen Urgen, Yasemin Afacan