For the time being, this page is under reconstruction.
This page will document end-user involvement in the engAGE project.
End-users have been involved in all phases of the project.
During the first half year of 2023 Pepper was shipped to all the end-user partners in Italy, Norway and Switzerland.
Laoratory testing
Around Summer 2023 the end-user partners ran labotatory tests with a small number of potential elderly end-users with MCI.
Switzerland
In May, lab tests were conducted for the engAGE project with HUG at the Evalab in Switzerland.
The purpose of these tests was to observe whether participants had any problems using our system and to find out what they thought of it to improve it for the long field trials starting in September.
A total of 11 participants tested our system (5 elders, 5 informal caregivers, and 1 formal caregiver) in Geneva.
We observed that the participants reacted very well and felt comfortable using the Pepper robot. They enjoyed interacting with it, discovering its features, and found it easy to use.
Users were positive about the potential benefits, including reassurance, appointment reminders, and caregiver delegation.
We were also able to identify issues that will be addressed in our future testing.
The HUG would like to thank the #patientpartenaire program for their help with these tests in Switzerland, and in particular Pierre Sutter (in the photo) for his constant involvement.
Italy
Norway
Laboratory test were performed in Oslo August 2023. The expectations from the test users were high, and they were curious to see what the robot could provide of entertaintment and cognitive excersizes. Valuable feedback was provided by the participants. Among which we mention two: it was difficult to listen to the robot voice and the screen size on the chest of Pepper is too small for large audiences to watch simultaneously The voice has been improved by then. The test participants suggested that the content of the screen should be displayed on a lager external screen.
User testing
6 months' user testing was performed in each country from November 2023 to June 2024.
Switzerland
Italy
In July 2024, the final event with Italian engAGE end-users took place in the gardens of Villa Gusso in Ancona, the headquarters of IRCSS INRCA. Participants gathered to share their experiences and gave brief interviews about the project. Now, you can enjoy a video from the event.
Italian end-users' experiences with engAGE
Norway
In Norway, user testing has been performed at two day care centres in Arendal, Solhaug and Plankemyra. Pepper has created much joy and valuable feedback has been provided to the project.
