IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - September 2021 - 21

Leading Edge
Next Steps for Social Robotics in an
Aging World
Jordan Miller
Troy McDaniel
School of Computing, Informatics, and Decision
Systems Engineering (CIDSE), Arizona State
Univeristy, Tempe, AZ 85281 USA
Michael Bernstein
School for the Future of Innovation in Society,
Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
 ScientiStS and engineerS are exploring technological
solutions to place inside people's homes to
solve challenges associated with rising healthcare
needs and an aging population. This trend in technology
is known informally as smart living. The technologies
being investigated may hold a promising future
for the elderly population, allowing them to continue
to live inside their home while aging. However,
when novel devices are introduced to support aging
in place, designs often fail to consider the struggles
older individuals face in their everyday lives. Excluding
such considerations means continuing to develop
technologies that do not truly serve the needs of older
adults. Earth is projected to be home to 9.3 billion
people by 2050, 2 billion of which are likely to be 65
or older [1]. Therefore, there is a pronounced need for
a human-centered approach to appropriately address
the needs, wants, opinions, behaviors, and psychosocial
aspects of older adults desiring to age in place.
Older adults face challenges in their own homes,
nursing homes, assisted living facilities, and even family
housing. Without understanding the unique ways in
which the place of aging affects the quality of life, or
options in which technological solutions could support
older adults aging in different environments, the
scientific community is not well-positioned to innovate
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/MTS.2021.3101931
Date of current version: 2 September 2021
September 2021
The Polytechnic School, Arizona State Univeristy,
Mesa, AZ 85212 USA
responsibly, and in a way that genuinely helps people.
There will be two main impacts of understanding the
hurdles in each of the aforementioned settings. By
reflecting the needs of older adults in smart technologies,
researchers and developers will be better aligned
to enhance the quality of life among this population.
Second, as older adults participate in the design process,
not only will their needs be represented, but
opportunities to better acclimate to unfamiliar technology
will improve chances of acceptance and successful
adoption and long-term use.
As part of a National Science Foundation-sponsored
Research Traineeship (NRT) graduate training program
on Citizen-Centered Smart Cities and Smart Living
at Arizona State University, our team began initiatives to
understand better the barriers facing older adults within
the places they age. Following an investigation into the
literature and discussions with gerontechnologists and
roboticists, we began empirical work to address isolation
and depression in older adults.
In our examination of the literature, we found
isolation and financial hardship in each location.
Our review examined 250 articles across fields of
computer science, health sciences, and the social
sciences as well as key application areas. Our study
revealed several important findings about the current
state of knowledge in this area.
While there is much work in the area of social
robotics for older adults, there is still a gap between
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IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - September 2021

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