Making Meaning Together: Co-designing a Social Robot for Older Adults with Ikigai Experts

Abstract

A sense of meaning and purpose in life–known in Japan as one’s ikigai –can lead to better health outcomes, an improved sense of well-being, and longer life as people age. The design of socially assistive robots, however, has so far focused largely on the more hedonic aims of supporting positive affect and happiness through interactions with robots. To explore how social robots might be able to support people’s ikigai, we performed (1) in-depth interviews with 12 ‘ikigai experts’ who formally support and/or study older adults (OAs)’ ikigai and (2) 5 co-design workshop sessions with 10 such experts. Our interview findings show that expert practitioners define ikigai in a holistic way in their everyday experience and practice, incorporating physical, social, and mental activities that relate not only to the individual and their behaviors, but also to their relationships with other people and to their connection with the broader community (3 levels of ikigai). Our co-design workshops showed that ikigai experts were overall positive towards the use of social robots to support OAs’ ikigai, particularly in the roles of an information-provider and social enabler that connects OAs to other people and activities in their communities. They also point out areas of potential risk, including the need to maintain OAs’ independence, relationships with others, and privacy, which should be considered in design. This research is the first to explore the co-design of social robots that can support people’s sense of ikigai–meaning and purpose–as they age.

Understanding the Connection Among Ikigai, Well-Being, and Home Robot Acceptance in Japanese Older Adults: Mixed Methods Study

“…These factors are either directly related to ikigai, are protective factors against ikigai loss, or support other sources of ikigai. This is also consistent with feedback obtained from ikigai experts, suggesting that a holistic, multidimensional approach should be taken to support older adults’ ikigai, as these factors are often interconnected [ 21 ].…”

“…Previous studies with older adults in the United States have suggested that robots may be beneficial in helping older adults maintain and enhance their ikigai [ 20 ]. In addition, feedback obtained via interviews with ikigai experts, both academic scholars and those running ikigai centers in Japan, has been largely positive about the idea of using robots cross-culturally to support ikigai [ 21 ]. Therefore, this paper presents the next step in answering if and how robots might support Japanese older adults’ ikigai.…”

Facilitators and barriers to codesigning social robots with older adults with dementia: a scoping review protocol

“… 16 17 However, the knowledge remains limited about the codesign process of social robots with older adults with dementia. 18 This scoping review, therefore, addresses two critical gaps in the current body of knowledge. First, it aims to collate and present empirical evidence on the codesign process, to establish an understanding of how interventions can be tailor-made for older adults with dementia.…”