Client
Aeolus Robotics
Services
About the project
Maintaining a household is tedious and it also brings on additional challenges as we age. Especially since we wish to continue living autonomously and independently.
Aeolus Robotics, which has created the first generation of household robot assistants, aims to improve lives by making household chores easier for all, particularly the elderly.
Challenge
To foster autonomy among the elderly, Aeolous Robotics reached out to Momentum, an HTEC Group Company to delve into the intricacies of the interaction between humans and robots, with a particular focus on the elderly population. Ultimately, they wished to empower them to care for themselves and their homes without having to rely on others.
Solution
To address the challenge and define the ecosystem, our team workshopped with behavioral engineering, product management, and marketing experts, as well as specialists in human-machine interactions. From this collaboration and our research, we created unique user personas, evaluate their behaviors, and identify areas for improvement.
What Momentum found was that daily use, monitoring, and troubleshooting were key in ensuring the optimal use of the robot assistants. They then classified the top ten needs of the users while analyzing which recognizable gestures and features the robot can support at the time (in 2018), including any technological constraints.
It was also important to understand how the autonomous behaviors of the robot can be used to support interaction from the entire family, not just seniors. An exploration of this and the various possible interactions between the robot and user(s) took place to map out crucial user journeys. Finally, our team explored design solutions that enable a more connected experience with the robot, rather than one based simply on need.
In essence, through the work, our team sought not to replace what seniors are able to do, but to help them remain active and autonomous.
Success
Through the collaboration with the client, our team opened up new ways of conceptualizing the human-robot experience. As a result, Aeolus the robot can become an integral part of nursing facilities and beyond, assisting its elderly companions in their day-to day.
The company is now working on a strategy to launch their robots on the market. Should they succeed, the senior population will be better equipped to handle household chores while maintaining the independence they deserve.
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