A Brief Literature Review on Human Perceptions of Service Robots with a Focus on Healthcare

Abstract

Service robots are becoming increasingly popular in the world where they interact with humans on a semi- or routine basis. It is essential to understand human perceptions of these robots, as they affect use, adoption, and interaction. The primary goal of this brief literature review was to learn about public perceptions of service robots, particularly in healthcare settings. A secondary goal was to understand the measures generally used to gather perception data. A restricted literature search was conducted from September-November 2019 using three databases, yielding 3,629 articles; a total of 22 were selected for this review published between 2011-2019. In general, a variety of largely untested surveys were used, and the studies surveyed illustrated the complexity of the perception space. Perceptions differ by gender, age, culture, and interact with trust, usability, work role, and perceptions of domains of life such as schools or healthcare. Limitations and the future need to better understand this area are discussed.