Smart Living Technologies in the Context of Improving the Quality of Life For Older People: The Case of the Humanoid Rudy Robot

Abstract

Smart living is an essential dimension of an ageing society because one of its measures includes living conditions (health, safety, housing). Many technological solutions are designed to satisfy the needs of older people living in cities. Humanoid robots are one of the technologies that can significantly improve the quality of life in older adults. The Rudy Robot is an example of a robot adapted to the needs of older people. The conducted research aimed to gain knowledge about the potential future use of the humanoid Rudy Robot by older adults in the context of smart living. The study mainly aimed to identify the robot’s most important functionalities that could improve older adults’ quality of life based on a literature review. In addition, the Rudy Robot was rated according to the most important criteria for evaluating the robot. The paper also examined whether age, sex, education and place of residence affect the assessment of the Rudy Robot technology. It should be noted that this technology is not available in Poland but has become known due to television, the Internet, etc. Respondents received a description of this technology, examples of use, and links to literature and films together with the questionnaire; thus, they knew what the Rudy Robot was and its characteristics, possibilities and potential.