Randy Yee Man Wong

HTW Berlin - University of Applied Sciences, University of Auckland

Papers

Total Citations

159

H-Index

About

Randy Yee Man Wong is a pioneering researcher in human-robot interaction, with a focus on assistive robotics for aging populations. Her work bridges robotics, psychology, and gerontology, exploring how older adults and caregivers perceive, accept, and emotionally respond to service robots. In her highly cited 2010 study (82 citations), Wong demonstrated that positive attitudes and emotions toward robots significantly predicted acceptance among retirement home residents and staff, revealing the critical role of affective factors in technology adoption. Her companion paper (77 citations) details the design and deployment of one of the first mobile service robots for older people, emphasizing successful human-robot interaction through six application modules tested in real-world independent living facilities. These contributions have shaped the development of socially assistive robots, influencing both engineering design and deployment strategies. Wong’s work is notable for its early, rigorous empirical approach to understanding user experience in care settings, providing foundational insights for researchers and practitioners aiming to create robots that are not only functional but also welcomed by older users.