Diversity-Aware Verbal Interaction Between a Robot and People With Spinal Cord Injury

This article explores the acceptance of a humanoid robot designed to engage in conversations with clinicians and individuals with spinal cord injuries. Building upon prior research, we introduce the concept of “diversity-aware” robots, which possess the capability to interact with people while adapting to their culture, age, gender, preferences, and physical and mental conditions. These robots are connected to a cloud system specifically designed to consider these factors, enabling them to adapt to the context and individuals they interact with. Our experiments involved the NAO robot interacting with both clinicians and individuals with spinal cord injuries in a hospital environment. Subsequent to the interaction, participants completed a questionnaire and underwent an interview. The collected data were analyzed to assess the system’s acceptability and its persistence beyond the initial novelty effect. Furthermore, we investigated whether clinicians exhibited a lower predisposition towards the system and expressed greater concerns than end-users about using the robot, which could potentially hinder the adoption of the system.