Available online 3 July 2022

Study the social organization within institutions welcoming dependent older adults.

Design of an acceptable human-robot interaction.

Ethnography to understand the current work practices.

The ethnographic observations cancelled due to the Covid crisis.

Use of the cultural probes method in the co-design process.

The objective of our research is to study the social organization within institutions welcoming dependent older adults and the potential impact of introducing a social robot.

In a co-design approach with professionals, the observation of behaviors, regulated by social rules and norms, will allow, in a way coherent with our empirical approach, to question the conditions necessary for the design of an acceptable human-robot interaction. The ethnographic observations, which were cancelled due to the Covid crisis, led us to use the “cultural probes” method combined with interviews, to understand the daily work of health professionals better.

The analysis of the collected data allows us to identify 5 recurrent themes – Time and personnel, the health situation,1 Communication/Attention, Guiding, Activities – for which we have listed, in this article, the issues encountered, the questions raised and ideas of potential solutions with the use of a social robot.

The Cultural Probes approach may seem time-consuming and requires a significant investment, but it has allowed us to maintain regular contact during the pandemic. In addition, the qualitative data collected proved to be a good discussion tool.

Social Robotics

Human-Robot Interactions

Participatory Design

Empirical Analysis

Cultural probes

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