Skip to main content

Lund University Publications

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

Interactive robots for health in Europe : Technology readiness and adoption potential

Östlund, Britt LU ; Malvezzi, Monica ; Frennert, Susanne LU orcid ; Funk, Michael ; Gonzalez-Vargas, Jose ; Baur, Kilian ; Alimisis, Dimitris ; Thorsteinsson, Freygardur ; Alonso-Cepeda, Antonio and Fau, Guillaume , et al. (2023) In Frontiers in Public Health 11.
Abstract

Introduction: Social robots are accompanied by high expectations of what they can bring to society and in the healthcare sector. So far, promising assumptions have been presented about how and where social robots are most relevant. We know that the industry has used robots for a long time, but what about social uptake outside industry, specifically, in the healthcare sector? This study discusses what trends are discernible, to better understand the gap between technology readiness and adoption of interactive robots in the welfare and health sectors in Europe. Methods: An assessment of interactive robot applications at the upper levels of the Technology Readiness Level scale is combined with an assessment of adoption potential based on... (More)

Introduction: Social robots are accompanied by high expectations of what they can bring to society and in the healthcare sector. So far, promising assumptions have been presented about how and where social robots are most relevant. We know that the industry has used robots for a long time, but what about social uptake outside industry, specifically, in the healthcare sector? This study discusses what trends are discernible, to better understand the gap between technology readiness and adoption of interactive robots in the welfare and health sectors in Europe. Methods: An assessment of interactive robot applications at the upper levels of the Technology Readiness Level scale is combined with an assessment of adoption potential based on Rogers' theory of diffusion of innovation. Most robot solutions are dedicated to individual rehabilitation or frailty and stress. Fewer solutions are developed for managing welfare services or public healthcare. Results: The results show that while robots are ready from the technological point of view, most of the applications had a low score for demand according to the stakeholders. Discussion: To enhance social uptake, a more initiated discussion, and more studies on the connections between technology readiness and adoption and use are suggested. Applications being available to users does not mean they have an advantage over previous solutions. Acceptance of robots is also heavily dependent on the impact of regulations as part of the welfare and healthcare sectors in Europe.

(Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; and , et al. (More)
; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; and (Less)
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
educational robots, healthcare robots, interactive robots, social robots, technology readiness
in
Frontiers in Public Health
volume
11
article number
979225
publisher
Frontiers Media S. A.
external identifiers
  • pmid:36992891
  • scopus:85150878893
ISSN
2296-2565
DOI
10.3389/fpubh.2023.979225
language
English
LU publication?
no
additional info
Publisher Copyright: Copyright © 2023 Östlund, Malvezzi, Frennert, Funk, Gonzalez-Vargas, Baur, Alimisis, Thorsteinsson, Alonso-Cepeda, Fau, Haufe, Di Pardo and Moreno.
id
d73f0313-195f-4d29-8d69-45625ca5e5cf
date added to LUP
2024-12-10 13:34:57
date last changed
2025-07-09 19:37:57
@article{d73f0313-195f-4d29-8d69-45625ca5e5cf,
  abstract     = {{<p>Introduction: Social robots are accompanied by high expectations of what they can bring to society and in the healthcare sector. So far, promising assumptions have been presented about how and where social robots are most relevant. We know that the industry has used robots for a long time, but what about social uptake outside industry, specifically, in the healthcare sector? This study discusses what trends are discernible, to better understand the gap between technology readiness and adoption of interactive robots in the welfare and health sectors in Europe. Methods: An assessment of interactive robot applications at the upper levels of the Technology Readiness Level scale is combined with an assessment of adoption potential based on Rogers' theory of diffusion of innovation. Most robot solutions are dedicated to individual rehabilitation or frailty and stress. Fewer solutions are developed for managing welfare services or public healthcare. Results: The results show that while robots are ready from the technological point of view, most of the applications had a low score for demand according to the stakeholders. Discussion: To enhance social uptake, a more initiated discussion, and more studies on the connections between technology readiness and adoption and use are suggested. Applications being available to users does not mean they have an advantage over previous solutions. Acceptance of robots is also heavily dependent on the impact of regulations as part of the welfare and healthcare sectors in Europe.</p>}},
  author       = {{Östlund, Britt and Malvezzi, Monica and Frennert, Susanne and Funk, Michael and Gonzalez-Vargas, Jose and Baur, Kilian and Alimisis, Dimitris and Thorsteinsson, Freygardur and Alonso-Cepeda, Antonio and Fau, Guillaume and Haufe, Florian and Di Pardo, Massimo and Moreno, Juan C.}},
  issn         = {{2296-2565}},
  keywords     = {{educational robots; healthcare robots; interactive robots; social robots; technology readiness}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  publisher    = {{Frontiers Media S. A.}},
  series       = {{Frontiers in Public Health}},
  title        = {{Interactive robots for health in Europe : Technology readiness and adoption potential}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2023.979225}},
  doi          = {{10.3389/fpubh.2023.979225}},
  volume       = {{11}},
  year         = {{2023}},
}