{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,13]],"date-time":"2026-04-13T20:41:39Z","timestamp":1776112899942,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":135,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"3","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2021,9,13]],"date-time":"2021-09-13T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1631491200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Robotics"],"abstract":"<jats:p>The COVID-19 pandemic has critically impacted the health and safety of the population of the world, especially the health and well-being of older adults. Socially assistive robots (SARs) have been used to help to mitigate the effects of the pandemic including loneliness and isolation, and to alleviate the workload of both formal and informal caregivers. This paper presents the first extensive survey and discussion on just how socially assistive robots have specifically helped this population, as well as the overall impact on health and the acceptance of such robots during the pandemic. The goal of this review is to answer research questions with respect to which SARs were used during the pandemic and what specific tasks they were used for, and what the enablers and barriers were to the implementation of SARs during the pandemic. We will also discuss lessons learned from their use to inform future SAR design and applications, and increase their usefulness and adoption in a post-pandemic world. More research is still needed to investigate and appreciate the user experience of older adults with SARs during the pandemic, and we aim to provide a roadmap for researchers and stakeholders.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/robotics10030106","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2021,9,14]],"date-time":"2021-09-14T03:46:14Z","timestamp":1631591174000},"page":"106","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":62,"title":["Socially Assistive Robots Helping Older Adults through the Pandemic and Life after COVID-19"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"10","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7976-6396","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Cristina","family":"Getson","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Autonomous Systems and Biomechatronics Lab, Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of Toronto, 5 King\u2019s College Road, Toronto, ON M5S 3G8, Canada"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7080-6857","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Goldie","family":"Nejat","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Autonomous Systems and Biomechatronics Lab, Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of Toronto, 5 King\u2019s College Road, Toronto, ON M5S 3G8, Canada"},{"name":"KITE, Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, Toronto, ON M5G 2A2, Canada"},{"name":"Rotman Research Institute, Baycrest Health Sciences, Toronto, ON M6A 2E1, Canada"},{"name":"Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR), Toronto, ON M5G 1M1, Canada"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,9,13]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"(2021, June 05). Here\u2019s How We Can Prepare for an Aging Population. Available online: https:\/\/www.weforum.org\/agenda\/2020\/02\/population-growth-high-demand-caregiving\/."},{"key":"ref_2","unstructured":"Ritchie, H., and Roser, M. (2021, June 05). Age Structure. Our World Data, Available online: https:\/\/ourworldindata.org\/age-structure."},{"key":"ref_3","unstructured":"United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, and Population Division (2020). World Population Ageing 2020 Highlights: Living Arrangements of Older Persons, United Nations."},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Isabet, B., Pino, M., Lewis, M., Benveniste, S., and Rigaud, A.-S. (2021). Social Telepresence Robots: A Narrative Review of Experiments Involving Older Adults before and during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health, 18.","DOI":"10.3390\/ijerph18073597"},{"key":"ref_5","unstructured":"Gouvernement du Canada, S.C. (2021, June 14). Isolement Social et Mortalit\u00e9 Chez les Personnes \u00c2g\u00e9es au Canada. Available online: https:\/\/www150.statcan.gc.ca\/n1\/pub\/82-003-x\/2020003\/article\/00003-fra.htm."},{"key":"ref_6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Jecker, N.S. (2020). You\u2019ve Got a Friend in Me: Sociable Robots for Older Adults in an Age of Global Pandemics. Ethics Inf. Technol.","DOI":"10.1007\/s10676-020-09546-y"},{"key":"ref_7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"966","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jamda.2020.05.006","article-title":"Loneliness and Isolation in Long-Term Care and the COVID-19 Pandemic","volume":"21","author":"Simard","year":"2020","journal-title":"J. Am. Med. Dir. Assoc."},{"key":"ref_8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"E27","DOI":"10.1111\/jgs.16527","article-title":"\u201cSocial Distancing\u201d Amid a Crisis in Social Isolation and Loneliness","volume":"68","author":"Cudjoe","year":"2020","journal-title":"J. Am. Geriatr. Soc."},{"key":"ref_9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"86","DOI":"10.1027\/0227-5910\/a000015","article-title":"The Impact of Epidemic Outbreak: The Case of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and Suicide among Older Adults in Hong Kong","volume":"31","author":"Yip","year":"2010","journal-title":"Crisis"},{"key":"ref_10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"228","DOI":"10.1016\/S2215-0366(20)30046-8","article-title":"Timely Mental Health Care for the 2019 Novel Coronavirus Outbreak Is Urgently Needed","volume":"7","author":"Xiang","year":"2020","journal-title":"Lancet Psychiatry"},{"key":"ref_11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"912","DOI":"10.1016\/S0140-6736(20)30460-8","article-title":"The Psychological Impact of Quarantine and How to Reduce It: Rapid Review of the Evidence","volume":"395","author":"Brooks","year":"2020","journal-title":"Lancet"},{"key":"ref_12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Khan, Z.H., Siddique, A., and Lee, C.W. (2020). Robotics Utilization for Healthcare Digitization in Global COVID-19 Management. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health, 17.","DOI":"10.3390\/ijerph17113819"},{"key":"ref_13","unstructured":"(2021). The Impact of COVID-19 on Long-Term Care in Canada: Focus on the First 6 Months, Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI)."},{"key":"ref_14","first-page":"976","article-title":"Use of Medical Robotics in Biothreat Situations","volume":"2006","author":"Kartoun","year":"2006","journal-title":"AMIA. Annu. Symp. Proc."},{"key":"ref_15","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"17","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ijmedinf.2015.05.014","article-title":"Investigating the Effectiveness of Technologies Applied to Assist Seniors: A Systematic Literature Review","volume":"85","author":"Khosravi","year":"2016","journal-title":"Int. J. Med. Inf."},{"key":"ref_16","unstructured":"(2021, June 06). How Robots and Other Tech Can Make the Fight against Coronavirus Safer. Available online: https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/newshour\/science\/how-robots-and-other-tech-can-make-the-fight-against-coronavirus-safer."},{"key":"ref_17","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"533","DOI":"10.1016\/j.outlook.2020.08.013","article-title":"Aging in America: How COVID-19 Will Change Care, Coverage, and Compassion","volume":"68","year":"2020","journal-title":"Nurs. Outlook"},{"key":"ref_18","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e2015455118","DOI":"10.1073\/pnas.2015455118","article-title":"Nursing Home Staff Networks and COVID-19","volume":"118","author":"Chen","year":"2021","journal-title":"Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA"},{"key":"ref_19","unstructured":"(2021, June 23). COVID-19 Nursing Home Infections Are up. Vaccines Will Help Residents. Available online: https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/news\/health\/2020\/12\/09\/covid-19-us-nursing-homes-vaccines-coronavirus\/6413672002\/."},{"key":"ref_20","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1042","DOI":"10.1007\/s12603-020-1447-8","article-title":"Nursing Homes and Long Term Care After COVID-19: A New ERA?","volume":"24","author":"Inzitari","year":"2020","journal-title":"J. Nutr. Health Aging"},{"key":"ref_21","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"23","DOI":"10.1001\/jama.2020.8524","article-title":"Nursing Home Care in Crisis in the Wake of COVID-19","volume":"324","author":"Grabowski","year":"2020","journal-title":"JAMA"},{"key":"ref_22","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Eggleston, K., Lee, Y.S., and Iizuka, T. (2021). Robots and Labor in the Service Sector: Evidence from Nursing Homes, National Bureau of Economic Research.","DOI":"10.3386\/w28322"},{"key":"ref_23","unstructured":"(2021, June 06). Robots May Be the Right Prescription for Struggling Nursing Homes. Available online: https:\/\/fsi.stanford.edu\/news\/robots-may-be-right-prescription-struggling-nursing-homes."},{"key":"ref_24","unstructured":"(2021, June 06). AGE-WELL|COVID-19 Has Significantly Increased the Use of Many Technologies among Older Canadians: Poll. Available online: https:\/\/agewell-nce.ca\/archives\/10884."},{"key":"ref_25","unstructured":"(2021, June 06). The \u2018New Normal\u2019 for Many Older Adults Is on the Internet. Bloomberg.com, Available online: https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/features\/2020-05-06\/in-lockdown-seniors-are-becoming-more-tech-savvy."},{"key":"ref_26","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1673","DOI":"10.1111\/jgs.16644","article-title":"Facing Dementia During the COVID-19 Outbreak","volume":"68","author":"Canevelli","year":"2020","journal-title":"J. Am. Geriatr. Soc."},{"key":"ref_27","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"619","DOI":"10.1001\/jama.2020.13484","article-title":"Social Isolation\u2014the Other COVID-19 Threat in Nursing Homes","volume":"324","author":"Abbasi","year":"2020","journal-title":"JAMA"},{"key":"ref_28","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"96","DOI":"10.12779\/dnd.2020.19.3.96","article-title":"Four-Week, Home-Based, Robot Cognitive Intervention for Patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial","volume":"19","author":"Lee","year":"2020","journal-title":"Dement. Neurocognitive Disord."},{"key":"ref_29","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"972","DOI":"10.1109\/TRO.2007.906261","article-title":"Living with Seal Robots\u2014Its Sociopsychological and Physiological Influences on the Elderly at a Care House","volume":"23","author":"Wada","year":"2007","journal-title":"IEEE Trans. Robot."},{"key":"ref_30","unstructured":"(2021, June 10). There\u2019s No Cure for Covid-19 Loneliness, but Robots Can Help|WIRED. Available online: https:\/\/www.wired.com\/story\/covid-19-robot-companions\/."},{"key":"ref_31","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"618866","DOI":"10.3389\/frobt.2021.618866","article-title":"Robotic Telemedicine for Mental Health: A Multimodal Approach to Improve Human-Robot Engagement","volume":"8","author":"Lima","year":"2021","journal-title":"Front. Robot. AI"},{"key":"ref_32","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Louie, W.-Y.G., Li, J., Vaquero, T., and Nejat, G. (2014, January 25\u201329). A Focus Group Study on the Design Considerations and Impressions of a Socially Assistive Robot for Long-Term Care. Proceedings of the 23rd IEEE International Symposium on Robot and Human Interactive Communication, Edinburgh, UK.","DOI":"10.1109\/ROMAN.2014.6926259"},{"key":"ref_33","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1159","DOI":"10.1007\/s12369-020-00621-4","article-title":"A Social Robot Learning to Facilitate an Assistive Group-Based Activity from Non-Expert Caregivers","volume":"12","author":"Louie","year":"2020","journal-title":"Int. J. Soc. Robot."},{"key":"ref_34","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1145\/3277903","article-title":"Learning and Personalizing Socially Assistive Robot Behaviors to Aid with Activities of Daily Living","volume":"7","author":"Moro","year":"2018","journal-title":"ACM Trans. Hum. Robot Interact."},{"key":"ref_35","unstructured":"(2021, June 10). 10 Examples of Robots Helping to Fight COVID. Available online: https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/blakemorgan\/2020\/04\/22\/10-examples-of-robots-helping-to-fight-covid\/?sh=5ad5f397f4bf."},{"key":"ref_36","unstructured":"(2021, June 10). Autonomous Robots Are Helping Kill Coronavirus in Hospitals\u2014IEEE Spectrum. Available online: https:\/\/spectrum.ieee.org\/automaton\/robotics\/medical-robots\/autonomous-robots-are-helping-kill-coronavirus-in-hospitals."},{"key":"ref_37","unstructured":"Bandoim, L. (2021, June 10). Tally The Cute Shelf-Scanning Robot Is Coming to More Grocery Stores. Available online: https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/lanabandoim\/2020\/10\/06\/tally-the-cute-shelf-scanning-robot-is-coming-to-more-grocery-stores\/."},{"key":"ref_38","unstructured":"UNIDO (2021, June 10). In China, Robot Delivery Vehicles Deployed to Help with COVID-19 Emergency. Available online: https:\/\/www.unido.org\/stories\/china-robot-delivery-vehicles-deployed-help-covid-19-emergency."},{"key":"ref_39","unstructured":"Hawkins, A.J. (2021, June 10). Nuro Is Using Delivery Robots to Help Health Care Workers Fighting COVID-19. Available online: https:\/\/www.theverge.com\/2020\/4\/22\/21231466\/nuro-delivery-robot-health-care-workers-food-supplies-california."},{"key":"ref_40","unstructured":"Katz, L. (2021, June 10). Don\u2019t Defy Coronavirus Lockdown Rules, or This Police Robot Will Call You on It. Available online: https:\/\/www.cnet.com\/news\/dont-defy-coronavirus-lockdown-rules-or-this-robot-will-call-you-on-it\/."},{"key":"ref_41","unstructured":"(2021, June 10). Robot in Kerala Polling Booth Tells Voters to Follow Covid-19 Norms. Available online: https:\/\/www.hindustantimes.com\/india-news\/robot-in-kerala-polling-booth-tells-voters-to-follow-covid-19-norms\/story-bCNqoXbTwPjWZtHFM6GcXO.html."},{"key":"ref_42","unstructured":"(2021, June 10). How Diligent\u2019s Robots Are Making a Difference in Texas Hospitals\u2014IEEE Spectrum. Available online: https:\/\/spectrum.ieee.org\/automaton\/robotics\/medical-robots\/how-diligents-robots-are-making-a-difference-in-texas-hospitals."},{"key":"ref_43","unstructured":"(2021, June 10). Temp Screening Assistant Adds New Skill to Misty II Service Robot Platform. Available online: https:\/\/www.therobotreport.com\/temp-screening-assistant-adds-skill-misty-ii-service-robot\/."},{"key":"ref_44","unstructured":"(2021, June 10). Robot Takes Contact-Free Measurements of Patients\u2019 Vital Signs. Available online: https:\/\/news.mit.edu\/2020\/spot-robot-vital-signs-0831."},{"key":"ref_45","unstructured":"(2021, June 10). The Pandemic Has Been Good for One Kind of Worker: Robots. Available online: https:\/\/www.nationalgeographic.co.uk\/science-and-technology\/2020\/09\/the-pandemic-has-been-good-for-one-kind-of-worker-robots."},{"key":"ref_46","unstructured":"Aymerich-Franch, L., and Ferrer, I. (2004). The Implementation of Social Robots during the COVID-19 Pandemic. arXiv, Available online: https:\/\/arxiv.org\/abs\/2007.03941."},{"key":"ref_47","unstructured":"(2021, June 11). How Have Humanoid Robots Been Effective in Supporting Our Healthcare Workers during COVID-19?|SoftBank Robotics. Available online: https:\/\/www.softbankrobotics.com\/emea\/en\/blog\/news-trends\/how-have-humanoid-robots-been-effective-supporting-our-healthcare-workers-during."},{"key":"ref_48","unstructured":"SoftBank Robotics (2021, June 29). Pepper the Humanoid and Programmable Robot. Available online: https:\/\/www.softbankrobotics.com\/emea\/en\/pepper."},{"key":"ref_49","unstructured":"NoCamels (2021, June 11). Israeli Robot Assistant Deployed In Asia to Help Minimize Coronavirus Spread. Available online: https:\/\/nocamels.com\/2020\/03\/personal-ai-robot-israel-temi-robotemi-coronavirus\/."},{"key":"ref_50","unstructured":"(2021, June 29). Temi Specs. Available online: https:\/\/www.robotemi.com\/specs\/."},{"key":"ref_51","unstructured":"(2021, June 11). With the Pandemic Hitting Nursing Homes, SARA\u2019s Robots Are in Growing Demand. Available online: https:\/\/eit.europa.eu\/news-events\/news\/pandemic-hitting-nursing-homes-saras-robots-are-growing-demand."},{"key":"ref_52","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"5339","DOI":"10.1109\/LRA.2020.3007462","article-title":"Lio-A Personal Robot Assistant for Human-Robot Interaction and Care Applications","volume":"5","author":"Caroni","year":"2020","journal-title":"IEEE Robot. Autom. Lett."},{"key":"ref_53","unstructured":"(2021, June 29). Lio-The Professional Personal Robot\u2014F&P Robotics. FP Robot. AG, Available online: https:\/\/www.fp-robotics.com\/de\/care-lio\/."},{"key":"ref_54","unstructured":"E&T Editorial (2021, June 11). Robots Keeping Elderly Belgians Connected with Loved Ones during Coronavirus. Available online: https:\/\/eandt.theiet.org\/content\/articles\/2020\/03\/robots-keep-elderly-connected-with-loved-ones-during-coronavirus\/."},{"key":"ref_55","unstructured":"(2021, June 29). Zorabots James. Available online: https:\/\/zorabots.be\/robots\/james."},{"key":"ref_56","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Cooper, S., Di Fava, A., Vivas, C., Marchionni, L., and Ferro, F. (September, January 31). ARI: The Social Assistive Robot and Companion. Proceedings of the 2020 29th IEEE International Conference on Robot and Human Interactive Communication (RO-MAN), IEEE, Naples, Italy.","DOI":"10.1109\/RO-MAN47096.2020.9223470"},{"key":"ref_57","unstructured":"(2021, June 29). ARI-PAL Robotics: Leading Service Robotics. PAL Robot, Available online: https:\/\/pal-robotics.com\/robots\/ari\/."},{"key":"ref_58","unstructured":"(2021, June 11). Temperature Misty Robotics. Available online: https:\/\/temperature.mistyrobotics.com\/."},{"key":"ref_59","unstructured":"(2021, June 29). Misty II Product Page. Misty Robot, Available online: https:\/\/www.mistyrobotics.com\/products\/misty-ii\/."},{"key":"ref_60","unstructured":"(2021, June 30). New Feature: Pepper Mask Detection. SoftBank Robotics. Available online: https:\/\/www.softbankrobotics.com\/emea\/en\/blog\/news-trends\/new-feature-pepper-mask-detection."},{"key":"ref_61","unstructured":"(2021, June 11). AI Robot Startup Temi Teams up with Amazon\u2019s Alexa to Get Rolling\u2014Literally. NoCamels, Available online: https:\/\/nocamels.com\/2019\/01\/personal-ai-robot-temi-amazon-alexa\/."},{"key":"ref_62","unstructured":"(2021, June 30). Vayyar Partners with Meditemi to Detect Early Stage COVID-19 Symptoms in under 10 Seconds. Available online: https:\/\/www.biospace.com\/article\/vayyar-partners-with-meditemi-to-detect-early-stage-covid-19-symptoms-in-under-10-seconds\/."},{"key":"ref_63","unstructured":"Slavinsky, C. (2021, June 03). Connected Living Announces Global Partnership with Temi, a Companion Device and Telehealth Delivery Robot, in Response to COVID-19. Sr. Living News, Available online: https:\/\/www.seniorlivingnews.com\/connected-living-announces-global-partnership-with-temi-a-companion-device-and-telehealth-delivery-robot-in-response-to-covid-19\/."},{"key":"ref_64","unstructured":"(2021, June 29). Sanbot Elf Specifications. Available online: https:\/\/www.sanbot.co.uk\/sanbot-specifications."},{"key":"ref_65","unstructured":"(2021, June 29). Sara Robotics. Available online: https:\/\/sara-robotics.com\/."},{"key":"ref_66","unstructured":"Bauer, J., Gr\u00fcndel, L., Se\u00dfner, J., Meiners, M., Lieret, M., Lechler, T., Konrad, C., and Franke, J. (2018, January 19\u201320). 2 Camera-Based Fall Detection System with the Service Robot Sanbot Elf. Proceedings of the 1st Conference on Smart Public Buildings, Stuttgart, Germany."},{"key":"ref_67","unstructured":"Scalzo, F.L. (2021, June 11). Tommy the Robot Nurse Helps Keep Italy Doctors Safe from Coronavirus. Reuters, Available online: https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/article\/us-health-coronavirus-italy-robots-idUSKBN21J67Y."},{"key":"ref_68","unstructured":"(2021, June 29). COVID-19: ZoraBots Makes All Its James Robots Available to Belgium\u2019s Retirement Homes. Available online: https:\/\/www.zorarobotics.be\/nl\/node\/29."},{"key":"ref_69","unstructured":"(2021, June 11). ZBOS by Zora. Available online: https:\/\/www.zorarobotics.be\/zbos-zora."},{"key":"ref_70","unstructured":"(2021, June 23). ReMember-Me: About Us. Available online: https:\/\/www.rememberme-aal.eu\/about-us\/."},{"key":"ref_71","unstructured":"Robotics, P.A.L. (2021, June 11). Home Robot\u2014ARI Helping in Homes through EU Project SHAPES. PAL Robot. Blog, Available online: https:\/\/blog.pal-robotics.com\/home-robot-ari-helping-in-homes-through-eu-project-shapes\/."},{"key":"ref_72","unstructured":"(2021, June 11). PAL Robotics Customizable Bots Could Be the Next Frontline Workers-IEEE Spectrum. Available online: https:\/\/spectrum.ieee.org\/news-from-around-ieee\/the-institute\/ieee-member-news\/pal-robotics-customizable-bots-could-be-the-next-frontline-workers."},{"key":"ref_73","unstructured":"(2021, June 11). Misty II: A Partner in COVID-19 Safety and Wellness. Misty Robot, Available online: https:\/\/www.mistyrobotics.com\/use-cases\/robot-for-covid-19-coronavirus-safety-wellness\/."},{"key":"ref_74","unstructured":"Salt\u00f3 Group (2021, June 11). Misty Robot. Available online: https:\/\/www.mistyrobotics.com\/products\/solution-hub\/salto-group\/."},{"key":"ref_75","unstructured":"Hennessy, M. (2021, June 11). Makers of Sophia the Robot Plan Mass Rollout Amid Pandemic. Reuters, Available online: https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/article\/us-hongkong-robot-idUSKBN29U03X."},{"key":"ref_76","unstructured":"(2021, June 11). Meet Grace, the Healthcare Robot COVID-19 Created. Available online: https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/business\/healthcare-pharmaceuticals\/meet-grace-healthcare-robot-covid-19-created-2021-06-09\/."},{"key":"ref_77","unstructured":"(2021, June 11). IFR SERVICE ROBOTS Record: Sales Worldwide Up 32%. Available online: https:\/\/ifr.org\/ifr-press-releases\/news\/service-robots-record-sales-worldwide-up-32."},{"key":"ref_78","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"102182","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ijinfomgt.2020.102182","article-title":"Will COVID-19 Be the Tipping Point for the Intelligent Automation of Work? A Review of the Debate and Implications for Research","volume":"55","author":"Coombs","year":"2020","journal-title":"Int. J. Inf. Manag."},{"key":"ref_79","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"101600","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jsis.2020.101600","article-title":"The Strategic Impacts of Intelligent Automation for Knowledge and Service Work: An Interdisciplinary Review","volume":"29","author":"Coombs","year":"2020","journal-title":"J. Strateg. Inf. Syst."},{"key":"ref_80","unstructured":"Lufkin, B. (2021, June 14). What the World Can Learn from Japan\u2019s Robots. Available online: https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/worklife\/article\/20200205-what-the-world-can-learn-from-japans-robots."},{"key":"ref_81","unstructured":"(2021, June 24). Robots to Be Used in UK Care Homes to Help Reduce Loneliness. Available online: http:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/society\/2020\/sep\/07\/robots-used-uk-care-homes-help-reduce-loneliness."},{"key":"ref_82","unstructured":"Samuel, S. (2021, June 24). You Can Buy a Robot to Keep Your Lonely Grandparents Company. Should You?. Available online: https:\/\/www.vox.com\/future-perfect\/2020\/9\/9\/21418390\/robots-pandemic-loneliness-isolation-elderly-seniors."},{"key":"ref_83","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Ghafurian, M., Ellard, C., and Dautenhahn, K. (2020). Social Companion Robots to Reduce Isolation: A Perception Change Due to COVID-19. arXiv.","DOI":"10.1007\/978-3-030-85616-8_4"},{"key":"ref_84","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"949","DOI":"10.1111\/jgs.16478","article-title":"Breaking Social Isolation Amidst COVID-19: A Viewpoint on Improving Access to Technology in Long-Term Care Facilities","volume":"68","author":"Eghtesadi","year":"2020","journal-title":"J. Am. Geriatr. Soc."},{"key":"ref_85","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Follmann, A., Schollemann, F., Arnolds, A., Weismann, P., Laurentius, T., Rossaint, R., and Czaplik, M. (2021). Reducing Loneliness in Stationary Geriatric Care with Robots and Virtual Encounters\u2014A Contribution to the COVID-19 Pandemic. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health, 18.","DOI":"10.3390\/ijerph18094846"},{"key":"ref_86","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e033096","DOI":"10.1136\/bmjopen-2019-033096","article-title":"Enablers and Barriers to the Implementation of Socially Assistive Humanoid Robots in Health and Social Care: A Systematic Review","volume":"10","author":"Papadopoulos","year":"2020","journal-title":"BMJ Open"},{"key":"ref_87","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Shao, M., Snyder, M., Nejat, G., and Benhabib, B. (2020). User Affect Elicitation with a Socially Emotional Robot. Robotics, 9.","DOI":"10.3390\/robotics9020044"},{"key":"ref_88","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Shao, M., Alves, S.F.D.R., Ismail, O., Zhang, X., Nejat, G., and Benhabib, B. (2019, January 6\u20139). You Are Doing Great! Only One Rep Left: An Affect-Aware Social Robot for Exercising. Proceedings of the 2019 IEEE International Conference on Systems, Man and Cybernetics (SMC), Bari, Italy.","DOI":"10.1109\/SMC.2019.8914198"},{"key":"ref_89","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Papadopoulos, C., Castro, N., Nigath, A., Davidson, R., Faulkes, N., Menicatti, R., Khaliq, A.A., Recchiuto, C., Battistuzzi, L., and Randhawa, G. (2021). The CARESSES Randomised Controlled Trial: Exploring the Health-Related Impact of Culturally Competent Artificial Intelligence Embedded Into Socially Assistive Robots and Tested in Older Adult Care Homes. Int. J. Soc. Robot.","DOI":"10.1007\/s12369-021-00781-x"},{"key":"ref_90","unstructured":"(2021, June 12). Culturally Competent Robots Could Improve Mental Health and Loneliness in Older People|University of Bedfordshire. Available online: https:\/\/www.beds.ac.uk\/news\/2020\/september\/culturally-competent-robots-could-improve-mental-health-and-loneliness-in-older-people\/."},{"key":"ref_91","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1131","DOI":"10.1108\/JOSM-05-2020-0145","article-title":"Robotic Transformative Service Research: Deploying Social Robots for Consumer Well-Being during COVID-19 and Beyond","volume":"31","author":"Henkel","year":"2020","journal-title":"J. Serv. Manag."},{"key":"ref_92","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Gasteiger, N., Ahn, H.S., Fok, C., Lim, J., Lee, C., MacDonald, B.A., Kim, G.H., and Broadbent, E. (2021). Older Adults\u2019 Experiences and Perceptions of Living with Bomy, an Assistive Dailycare Robot: A Qualitative Study. Assist. Technol., 1\u201311.","DOI":"10.1080\/10400435.2021.1877210"},{"key":"ref_93","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Casey, D., Barrett, E., Kovacic, T., Sancarlo, D., Ricciardi, F., Murphy, K., Koumpis, A., Santorelli, A., Gallagher, N., and Whelan, S. (2020). The Perceptions of People with Dementia and Key Stakeholders Regarding the Use and Impact of the Social Robot MARIO. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health, 17.","DOI":"10.3390\/ijerph17228621"},{"key":"ref_94","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"361","DOI":"10.1007\/s12369-010-0068-5","article-title":"Assessing Acceptance of Assistive Social Agent Technology by Older Adults: The Almere Model","volume":"2","author":"Heerink","year":"2010","journal-title":"Int. J. Soc. Robot."},{"key":"ref_95","unstructured":"Astor, B. (2021, June 28). What Will Life Be Like For Seniors After COVID-19?. Available online: https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/bartastor\/2020\/04\/26\/what-will-life-be-like-for-seniors-after-covid-19\/."},{"key":"ref_96","unstructured":"(2021, June 29). Seniors and Technology during Covid: New Research. Available online: https:\/\/www.ericsson.com\/en\/blog\/2021\/1\/seniors-and-technology-during-covid."},{"key":"ref_97","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Rafnsson, S.B., Maharani, A., and Tampubolon, G. (2021). Social Contact Mode and 15-Year Episodic Memory Trajectories in Older Adults With and Without Hearing Loss: Findings From the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing. J. Gerontol. Ser. B, gbab029.","DOI":"10.1093\/geronb\/gbab029"},{"key":"ref_98","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"801","DOI":"10.2147\/CIA.S56435","article-title":"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","volume":"9","author":"Wu","year":"2014","journal-title":"Clin. Interv. Aging"},{"key":"ref_99","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"259","DOI":"10.1080\/10400435.2017.1322158","article-title":"Evaluation of a Companion Robot Based on Field Tests with Single Older Adults in Their Homes","volume":"30","author":"Zsiga","year":"2018","journal-title":"Assist. Technol."},{"key":"ref_100","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"53","DOI":"10.1007\/s12369-010-0081-8","article-title":"Evaluating Human-Robot Interaction: Focusing on the Holistic Interaction Experience","volume":"3","author":"Young","year":"2011","journal-title":"Int. J. Soc. Robot."},{"key":"ref_101","unstructured":"(2021, June 30). PARO Therapeutic Robot. Available online: http:\/\/www.parorobots.com\/."},{"key":"ref_102","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Hung, L., Liu, C., Woldum, E., Au-Yeung, A., Berndt, A., Wallsworth, C., Horne, N., Gregorio, M., Mann, J., and Chaudhury, H. (2019). The Benefits of and Barriers to Using a Social Robot PARO in Care Settings: A Scoping Review. BMC Geriatr., 19.","DOI":"10.1186\/s12877-019-1244-6"},{"key":"ref_103","unstructured":"(2021, June 30). Lifelike Robotic Pets for Seniors\u2014Joy for All. Available online: https:\/\/joyforall.com\/."},{"key":"ref_104","unstructured":"(2021, June 28). What Robots Can\u2014and Can\u2019t\u2014Do for the Old and Lonely|The New Yorker. Available online: https:\/\/www.newyorker.com\/magazine\/2021\/05\/31\/what-robots-can-and-cant-do-for-the-old-and-lonely."},{"key":"ref_105","unstructured":"Lyons, J.B. (2013, January 25\u201327). Being Transparent about Transparency: A Model for Human-Robot Interaction. Proceedings of the AAAI Spring Symposium, Stanford, CA, USA."},{"key":"ref_106","unstructured":"(2021, June 29). Assistive Technologies: It\u2019s Not for Me, I\u2019m Not There yet! McMaster University. Available online: https:\/\/www.mcmasteroptimalaging.org\/blog\/detail\/blog\/2020\/07\/29\/assistive-technologies-it-s-not-for-me-i-m-not-there-yet."},{"key":"ref_107","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"151","DOI":"10.1007\/s10676-019-09524-z","article-title":"Could Robots Strengthen the Sense of Autonomy of Older People Residing in Assisted Living Facilities?\u2014A Future-Oriented Study","volume":"22","author":"Pirhonen","year":"2020","journal-title":"Ethics Inf. Technol."},{"key":"ref_108","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Chu, M., Sun, Y.-C., Ashraf, A., Alves, S.F.R., Nejat, G., and Naguib, H.E. (2019, January 6\u20139). Making Dressing Easier: Smart Clothes to Help with Putting Clothes on Correctly. Proceedings of the 2019 IEEE International Conference on Systems, Man and Cybernetics (SMC), Bari, Italy.","DOI":"10.1109\/SMC.2019.8913983"},{"key":"ref_109","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Carros, F., Meurer, J., L\u00f6ffler, D., Unbehaun, D., Matthies, S., Koch, I., Wieching, R., Randall, D., Hassenzahl, M., and Wulf, V. (2020, January 25\u201330). Exploring Human-Robot Interaction with the Elderly: Results from A Ten-Week Case Study in A Care Home. Proceedings of the 2020 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, Honolulu, HI, USA.","DOI":"10.1145\/3313831.3376402"},{"key":"ref_110","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1018","DOI":"10.1097\/00005537-200006000-00025","article-title":"Aging Effects on Motor Units in the Human Thyroarytenoid Muscle","volume":"110","author":"Takeda","year":"2000","journal-title":"Laryngoscope"},{"key":"ref_111","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1590","DOI":"10.1109\/ACCESS.2020.3045792","article-title":"Robots Under COVID-19 Pandemic: A Comprehensive Survey","volume":"9","author":"Shen","year":"2021","journal-title":"IEEE Access"},{"key":"ref_112","unstructured":"Corcella, R. (2021, June 13). A Scuola di \u00abcare-Robot\u00bb: Cos\u00ec Pure Gli Infermieri Imparano a Gestirli. Available online: https:\/\/www.corriere.it\/salute\/ehealth\/21_febbraio_26\/a-scuola-care-robot-cosi-anche-infermieri-impareranno-gestirli-1350d5fc-70f8-11eb-b26f-1b97a5632ac6.shtml."},{"key":"ref_113","unstructured":"(2021, June 27). IENE10 Project Starts\u2014EDUNET Association. Available online: https:\/\/www.edu-net.ro\/2021\/01\/22\/iene10-project-starts\/."},{"key":"ref_114","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"67","DOI":"10.1017\/S1041610216001435","article-title":"Robots to Assist Daily Activities: Views of Older Adults with Alzheimer\u2019s Disease and Their Caregivers","volume":"29","author":"Wang","year":"2017","journal-title":"Int. Psychogeriatr."},{"key":"ref_115","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"87","DOI":"10.30658\/hmc.1.6","article-title":"The Robot Privacy Paradox: Understanding How Privacy Concerns Shape Intentions to Use Social Robots","volume":"1","author":"Lutz","year":"2020","journal-title":"Hum.-Mach. Commun."},{"key":"ref_116","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Krupp, M.M., Rueben, M., Grimm, C.M., and Smart, W.D. (2017, January 6\u20139). Privacy and Telepresence Robotics: What Do Non-Scientists Think?. Proceedings of the Companion of the 2017 ACM\/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction, Vienna, Austria.","DOI":"10.1145\/3029798.3038384"},{"key":"ref_117","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"169","DOI":"10.1353\/ken.2015.0007","article-title":"Robot Lies in Health Care: When Is Deception Morally Permissible?","volume":"25","author":"Matthias","year":"2015","journal-title":"Kennedy Inst. Ethics J."},{"key":"ref_118","unstructured":"Turkle, S. (2021, June 16). Perspective|Why These Friendly Robots Can\u2019t Be Good Friends to Our Kids. Wash. Post., Available online: https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/outlook\/why-these-friendly-robots-cant-be-good-friends-to-our-kids\/2017\/12\/07\/bce1eaea-d54f-11e7-b62d-d9345ced896d_story.html."},{"key":"ref_119","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"305","DOI":"10.1023\/A:1021386708994","article-title":"The March of the Robot Dogs","volume":"4","author":"Sparrow","year":"2002","journal-title":"Ethics Inf. Technol."},{"key":"ref_120","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Maddahi, Y., Kalvandi, M., Langman, S., Capicotto, N., and Zareinia, K. (2021). RoboEthics in COVID-19: A Case Study in Dentistry. Front. Robot. AI, 8.","DOI":"10.3389\/frobt.2021.612740"},{"key":"ref_121","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"53","DOI":"10.1007\/s13347-018-0339-x","article-title":"Mutual Recognition in Human-Robot Interaction: A Deflationary Account","volume":"33","author":"Brinck","year":"2020","journal-title":"Philos. Technol."},{"key":"ref_122","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Johnson, J., and Finn, K. (2017). Chapter 3\u2014Vision. Designing User Interfaces for An Aging Population, Morgan Kaufmann.","DOI":"10.1016\/B978-0-12-804467-4.00003-7"},{"key":"ref_123","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"8","DOI":"10.1109\/MRA.2007.339605","article-title":"Socially Assistive Robotics","volume":"14","author":"Tapus","year":"2007","journal-title":"IEEE Robot. Autom. Mag."},{"key":"ref_124","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Rebola, C.B., and Jones, B. (2013, January 30). Sympathetic Devices: Designing Technologies for Older Adults. Proceedings of the 31st ACM International Conference on Design of Communication, New York, NY, USA.","DOI":"10.1145\/2507065.2507083"},{"key":"ref_125","unstructured":"Nichols, G. (2021, June 14). Healthcare Optimized: The Role of Robots Post-COVID. Available online: https:\/\/www.zdnet.com\/article\/the-role-of-robots-in-healthcare-post-covid\/."},{"key":"ref_126","unstructured":"Corkery, M., and Gelles, D. (2021, June 14). Robots Welcome to Take Over, as Pandemic Accelerates Automation. The New York Times, Available online: https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2020\/04\/10\/business\/coronavirus-workplace-automation.html."},{"key":"ref_127","unstructured":"(2021, June 14). The Role of Robots in A Post-Pandemic World. Financial Times, Available online: https:\/\/www.ft.com\/content\/291f3066-9b53-11ea-adb1-529f96d8a00b."},{"key":"ref_128","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"823","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jmsy.2021.02.005","article-title":"A Literature Survey of the Robotic Technologies during the COVID-19 Pandemic","volume":"60","author":"Wang","year":"2021","journal-title":"J. Manuf. Syst."},{"key":"ref_129","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Anghel, I., Cioara, T., Moldovan, D., Antal, M., Pop, C.D., Salomie, I., Pop, C.B., and Chifu, V.R. (2020). Smart Environments and Social Robots for Age-Friendly Integrated Care Services. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health, 17.","DOI":"10.3390\/ijerph17113801"},{"key":"ref_130","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Huang, H.-W., Chai, P., Ehmke, C., Merewether, G., Dadabhoy, F., Feng, A., Thomas, A.J., Li, C., da Silva, M., and Raibert, M.H. (2020). Agile Mobile Robotic Platform for Contactless Vital Signs Monitoring. TechRxiv Preprint.","DOI":"10.36227\/techrxiv.12811982.v1"},{"key":"ref_131","unstructured":"Perkel, C. (2021, June 28). Long-Term Care Residents Beg to Go Outside After Year-Long COVID-19 Confinement. CBC News, Available online: https:\/\/www.cbc.ca\/news\/canada\/toronto\/long-term-care-covid-confinement-1.5969825."},{"key":"ref_132","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Hussain, K., Wang, X., Omar, Z., Elnour, M., and Ming, Y. (2021, January 8\u201310). Robotics and Artificial Intelligence Applications in Manage and Control of COVID-19 Pandemic. Proceedings of the 2021 International Conference on Computer, Control and Robotics (ICCCR), Shanghai, China.","DOI":"10.1109\/ICCCR49711.2021.9349386"},{"key":"ref_133","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"eabc9014","DOI":"10.1126\/scirobotics.abc9014","article-title":"The Potential of Socially Assistive Robots during Infectious Disease Outbreaks","volume":"5","author":"Scassellati","year":"2020","journal-title":"Sci. Robot."},{"key":"ref_134","unstructured":"Peters, A. (2021, June 16). If You\u2019re in the Hospital with COVID-19, This Robot Dog Might Come Take Your Vital Signs. Fast Company, Available online: https:\/\/www.fastcompany.com\/90546178\/if-youre-in-the-hospital-this-robot-dog-might-come-take-your-vital-signs."},{"key":"ref_135","unstructured":"Shih, W.C. (2021, June 16). Global Supply Chains in A Post-Pandemic World. Harvard Business Review, Available online: https:\/\/hbr.org\/2020\/09\/global-supply-chains-in-a-post-pandemic-world."}],"container-title":["Robotics"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2218-6581\/10\/3\/106\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,11]],"date-time":"2025-10-11T07:02:11Z","timestamp":1760166131000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2218-6581\/10\/3\/106"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2021,9,13]]},"references-count":135,"journal-issue":{"issue":"3","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,9]]}},"alternative-id":["robotics10030106"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/robotics10030106","relation":{},"ISSN":["2218-6581"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2218-6581","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2021,9,13]]}}}