Pre-Deployment Perspectives on Humanoid Robots in Long- Term Care: Stakeholder Insights from a Real-world Lab

Pre-Deployment Perspectives on Humanoid Robots in Long- Term Care: Stakeholder Insights from a Real-world Lab | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Pre-Deployment Perspectives on Humanoid Robots in Long- Term Care: Stakeholder Insights from a Real-world Lab Jérémy Lefint, Utku Norman, Maria Maia, Nora Weinberger This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8854035/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract The integration of humanoid robots in long-term care settings is gaining attention due to demographic challenges and staff shortages. This study provides robotics engineers with concrete, early-stage design guidance for humanoid robots derived directly from real-world user needs in long-term care settings, enabling the development of more usable, acceptable, and effective products. Semi-structured interviews conducted before the deployment of a humanoid robot explored expectations, needs, and concerns regarding robotic assistance in daily routines. The study provides qualitative insights into the lives of both residents and staff, highlighting key areas where humanoid robotic support is anticipated. Findings suggest strong demand for assistance with everyday tasks, such as closing doors or windows, and openness to integration if user needs are met. Both groups recognize the potential to alleviate physical burdens and streamline daily tasks, yet concerns about usability, reliability, and ethical implications remain. This work demonstrates how qualitative insights can be systematically translated into actionable early-stage design considerations, bridging human-centered research and engineering practice. By grounding development in user expectations and real-world contexts, the approach supports the creation of functionally relevant and socially accepted technologies. The study highlights the value of real-world lab methodologies for aligning innovation with care practices and shows how non-technical user needs can be converted into early technical design directions. Addressing stakeholder concerns early is essential for successful integration into daily care routines. Assisted Living Humanoid Robots Long-Term Care User Needs Responsible Innovation Human-Centered Design Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8854035","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":601229251,"identity":"31d0246e-bed9-4414-95bf-00bebf061db0","order_by":0,"name":"Jérémy Lefint","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA80lEQVRIiWNgGAWjYBACxgYILcPAfBDIrEjgAfEkiNHCw8CW2MBw4EwCDw8hLTAA1JLAwHCwLYGBoBbm9t6Hj262MfDwszG3Pf44L03GHujE2zz4HNZz3Ng4F6hFso2x3eDgthygw9iSrfFqmZHGJg3SYnC/sU3i4LYKoBYeM2m8WuY/Y/8N0mJ/jBGoZQ5IC/83/FpmsLExg21hA2lpADmMhw2/lp40ZumccxI8EiBbzhxL4+E5zGZsOQePFsP2Y4yfc8ps5Pjb2J9JVNQk27O3Nz+88QaflgaQVWzIEcGMRzkIyIPJPwRUjYJRMApGwcgGAGM3QPEPduX1AAAAAElFTkSuQmCC","orcid":"","institution":"Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Jérémy","middleName":"","lastName":"Lefint","suffix":""},{"id":601229252,"identity":"2ffa1b0a-15b9-47b2-9b5c-a6c376b2c5a4","order_by":1,"name":"Utku Norman","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Utku","middleName":"","lastName":"Norman","suffix":""},{"id":601229257,"identity":"a34b2d59-9395-4374-a9ef-ac37218173fd","order_by":2,"name":"Maria Maia","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Maria","middleName":"","lastName":"Maia","suffix":""},{"id":601229259,"identity":"1074f66e-e39b-4888-bcdd-88c0589287f0","order_by":3,"name":"Nora Weinberger","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Nora","middleName":"","lastName":"Weinberger","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-02-11 16:39:00","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8854035/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8854035/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":108070752,"identity":"34f1c1f4-a9a0-4855-971e-ec5f3e28ab43","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-04-29 05:56:27","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":623815,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"ExaminingperpectivesonRoboticAIEinreichungSpringer.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8854035/v1_covered_8e126914-c3f8-4801-a075-d350d53ebef4.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Pre-Deployment Perspectives on Humanoid Robots in Long- Term Care: Stakeholder Insights from a Real-world Lab","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Assisted Living, Humanoid Robots, Long-Term Care, User Needs, Responsible Innovation, Human-Centered Design","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8854035/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8854035/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eThe integration of humanoid robots in long-term care settings is gaining attention due to demographic challenges and staff shortages. 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