Understanding the servicescape of nurse assistive robot: The perspective of healthcare service experience

What is the most significant criteria when you design a healthcare robot? Lots of robots for healthcare environments are being developed, however few of them have succeeded in the real field. Therefore, we tried to present a new perspective to approach this problem. In this paper, we propose a framework that verifies usability by interpreting the robot design from the servicescape perspective. Results of user testing concerning nursing robots was analyzed from four aspects of servicescape: Equipment, Design & Deco, Space and Ambience. Equipment had relevance to the functionality of the robot which is essentially considered, and Design & Deco was the parameter of GUI design. Space was an issue concerned about the environment when the robot moved such as the width of the corridor and the condition of the floor. Ambience was related to user dissatisfaction and reliability decline due to continuous noise and frequent errors. In summary, Equipment and Design & Deco were the general and essential conditions when we design a robot. However, Space and Ambience were the subjects that should be more crucial from the viewpoint of actual application to healthcare environment. Interpretation robot system in terms of servicescape would be required when it comes to adaption in-situ setting.