Subtopic Deep Dive
Assistive Technology in Aging in Place
Research Guide
What is Assistive Technology in Aging in Place?
Assistive Technology in Aging in Place uses sensors, telehealth, and robotics in home environments to support activities of daily living independence for frail elders.
Studies focus on robot acceptance by older adults (Wu et al., 2014, 249 citations) and design principles accommodating age-related sensory declines (Farage et al., 2012, 219 citations). Research examines assistive robots for dementia patients (Wang et al., 2016, 173 citations) and everyday technology use by those with cognitive impairments (Gibson et al., 2015, 167 citations). Over 10 key papers from 2001-2020 analyze user acceptance and ethical integration.
Why It Matters
Home-based assistive robots delay institutionalization for dementia patients, as shown in 1-month Living Lab trials (Wu et al., 2014). Design principles address vision, hearing, and mobility changes in aging populations, enabling product usability for 20% of people over 65 in industrial countries (Farage et al., 2012). Ethical frameworks guide intelligent technology deployment for dementia, reducing caregiver burden while preserving autonomy (Ienca et al., 2017). These technologies lower healthcare costs by sustaining independence amid global aging.
Key Research Challenges
Robot Acceptance Stigma
Older adults resist assistive robots due to stigmatizing images despite 1-month interaction benefits (Wu et al., 2014). Universal design principles aim to normalize usage but face adoption barriers (Farage et al., 2012). Mixed-method studies highlight need for destigmatization strategies.
Dementia User Integration
Assistive robots for daily activities require perspectives from Alzheimer's patients and caregivers post-interaction (Wang et al., 2016). Everyday technology use by dementia patients reveals inconsistent family carer support (Gibson et al., 2015). Systematic reviews stress tailored acceptance interventions (Thordardottir et al., 2019).
Ethical Design Constraints
Intelligent assistive technologies for dementia demand ethical reviews balancing privacy and efficacy (Ienca et al., 2017). Cognitive impairment users face digital divides in smartphone and internet access (Johansson et al., 2020). Frameworks must address vulnerability without over-reliance.
Essential Papers
Acceptance of an assistive robot in older adults: a mixed-method study of human–robot interaction over a 1-month period in the Living Lab setting
Ya-Huei Wu, Jérémy Wrobel, Mélanie Cornuet et al. · 2014 · Clinical Interventions in Aging · 249 citations
It is important to destigmatize images of assistive robots to facilitate their acceptance. Universal design aiming to increase the market for and production of products that are usable by everyone ...
Design Principles to Accommodate Older Adults
Miranda A. Farage, Kenneth W. Miller, Funmi Ajayi et al. · 2012 · Global Journal of Health Science · 219 citations
The global population is aging. In many industrial countries, almost one in five people are over age 65. As people age, gradual changes ensue in vision, hearing, balance, coordination, and memory. ...
Review of Critical Factors Related to Employment After Spinal Cord Injury: Implications for Research and Vocational Services
Lisa Ottomanelli, Lisa Lind · 2009 · Journal of Spinal Cord Medicine · 209 citations
Characteristics associated with employment after SCI include demographic variables, injury-related factors, employment history, psychosocial issues, and disability benefit status. It is recommended...
Ethical Design of Intelligent Assistive Technologies for Dementia: A Descriptive Review
Marcello Ienca, Tenzin Wangmo, Fabrice Jotterand et al. · 2017 · Science and Engineering Ethics · 200 citations
Disability digital divide: the use of the internet, smartphones, computers and tablets among people with disabilities in Sweden
Stefan Johansson, Jan Gulliksen, Catharina Gustavsson · 2020 · Universal Access in the Information Society · 192 citations
Mobility difficulties are not only a problem of old age
Lisa I. Iezzoni, Ellen P. McCarthy, Roger B. Davis et al. · 2001 · Journal of General Internal Medicine · 180 citations
Robots in Education and Care of Children with Developmental Disabilities: A Study on Acceptance by Experienced and Future Professionals
Daniela Conti, Santo Di Nuovo, Serafino Buono et al. · 2016 · International Journal of Social Robotics · 174 citations
Research in the area of robotics has made available numerous possibilities for further innovation in the education of children, especially in the rehabilitation of those with learning difficulties ...
Reading Guide
Foundational Papers
Start with Wu et al. (2014, 249 citations) for assistive robot acceptance in Living Labs, then Farage et al. (2012, 219 citations) for design principles addressing age-related declines, and Iezzoni et al. (2001, 180 citations) for baseline mobility issues.
Recent Advances
Study Thordardottir et al. (2019, 155 citations) systematic review on innovative tech acceptance, Johansson et al. (2020, 192 citations) on disability digital divides, and Wang et al. (2016, 173 citations) on dementia robot perspectives.
Core Methods
Mixed-methods for user acceptance (Wu et al., 2014), qualitative studies of everyday AT use (Gibson et al., 2015), ethical descriptive reviews (Ienca et al., 2017), and systematic literature reviews (Thordardottir et al., 2019).
How PapersFlow Helps You Research Assistive Technology in Aging in Place
Discover & Search
Research Agent uses searchPapers('assistive robots aging in place acceptance') to find Wu et al. (2014, 249 citations), then citationGraph reveals 200+ downstream works on robot destigmatization, while findSimilarPapers identifies Wang et al. (2016) on dementia robot views, and exaSearch uncovers ethical gaps in Ienca et al. (2017).
Analyze & Verify
Analysis Agent applies readPaperContent on Wu et al. (2014) to extract acceptance metrics from Living Lab data, verifyResponse with CoVe checks robot efficacy claims against Farage et al. (2012) design principles, and runPythonAnalysis performs GRADE grading on 10-paper citation networks for evidence strength in aging independence outcomes.
Synthesize & Write
Synthesis Agent detects gaps in robot ethics via contradiction flagging between Wu et al. (2014) acceptance and Ienca et al. (2017) reviews, while Writing Agent uses latexEditText for home AT sections, latexSyncCitations integrates 20+ references from Thordardottir et al. (2019), and latexCompile generates polished reports with exportMermaid diagrams of user acceptance flows.
Use Cases
"Analyze acceptance rates of assistive robots in dementia home trials from 2010-2020"
Research Agent → searchPapers + citationGraph (Wu 2014, Wang 2016) → Analysis Agent → runPythonAnalysis (pandas citation trends, GRADE scoring) → statistical plot of 173-249 citation impacts on aging in place efficacy.
"Draft LaTeX review on ethical assistive tech for frail elders aging at home"
Synthesis Agent → gap detection (Ienca 2017 + Thordardottir 2019) → Writing Agent → latexEditText (intro/methods) → latexSyncCitations (10 papers) → latexCompile → camera-ready PDF with bibliography.
"Find open-source code for home robot prototypes in aging studies"
Research Agent → searchPapers('assistive robot aging in place') → Code Discovery → paperExtractUrls (Bassily 2014) → paperFindGithubRepo → githubRepoInspect → verified Leap Motion controller repos for intuitive arm manipulation.
Automated Workflows
Deep Research workflow conducts systematic review of 50+ aging in place papers starting with searchPapers('assistive technology frail elders ADL'), citationGraph on Wu et al. (2014), and structured report with GRADE evidence tables. DeepScan applies 7-step analysis with CoVe checkpoints to verify robot acceptance claims across Farage et al. (2012) and Wang et al. (2016). Theorizer generates hypotheses on ethical robot integration from Ienca et al. (2017) literature synthesis.
Frequently Asked Questions
What defines Assistive Technology in Aging in Place?
It integrates sensors, telehealth, and robotics in homes to enable ADL independence for frail elders, as in Wu et al. (2014) robot trials.
What methods assess robot acceptance?
Mixed-method 1-month Living Lab studies measure human-robot interaction (Wu et al., 2014), while qualitative interviews capture dementia patient and caregiver views (Wang et al., 2016).
What are key papers?
Wu et al. (2014, 249 citations) on robot acceptance, Farage et al. (2012, 219 citations) on design principles, and Ienca et al. (2017, 200 citations) on ethical design.
What open problems exist?
Overcoming stigma for universal adoption (Wu et al., 2014), bridging digital divides for cognitive impairments (Johansson et al., 2020), and ethical personalization for dementia (Ienca et al., 2017).
Research Assistive Technology in Communication and Mobility with AI
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