Minimal robot to foster well-being: the HIRO project

An increasing number of studies in service research focuses on human-robot interaction. Only a few papers offer preliminary insights on the impact of such an interaction on actors’ well-being. Much more investigation is needed to get light on actors’ physical, psychological, and social well-being. The aim of this study is to understand how robotic solutions enhance service interactions and foster the patient’s well-being, investigating the effects of their use on the patient’s quality of life. The authors adopt an action research approach to promote an experimental project aimed at using the service robot Hiro, a Japanese minimal design service robot, in a daily care center as a research setting settled in Italy. The research process follows three phases. First, we focused on the robot pre-use analysis, i.e., the investigation of how minimal robot works. Semi-structured interviews with technology developers offered preliminary insights (on the features of the HIRO minimal robot) that impact well-being. In the second stage the focus shifts on the formal caregivers. Finally, the authors observe the interaction between HIRO and patients affected by dementia and how the robot can impact physical, psychological, and social well-being. The results show that the introduction of service robots enables patients to reduce their cognitive and socio-emotional decline and mental illness, allowing them to keep the parameters of the state of agitation under constant control and giving them the opportunity to interact with the robot in case of need (psychological wellbeing). It’s the first step to reduce stress, depression and agitation, towards the emotional involvement of the patient in a reactive and conversational interaction (social well-being). The results also show that the introduction of service robots can nudge patients to avoid a sedentary lifestyle and reach the goal of ‘daily physical activity’ more easily (physical well-being). This study contributes to research on the nascent literature on technologies and wellbeing within service research, suggesting an enhanced perspective on minimal design robots. The research offers a deeper understanding of the new dynamics that improve service interaction and impact well-being. Finally, this opens new possibilities for researchers and service providers who design service interaction involving technology.