Shirley A. Elprama, Kristýna Sirka Kacafírková & An Jacobs
Involving employees in robot/exoskeleton research is crucial for multiple reasons. First of all, it can give employees the opportunity to experience new technology and to see how it actually works. Whether it is technology that is still being developed, or already available on the market, we have noticed in all our research projects that people usually have high (and often unrealistic) expectations, probably influenced by movies and TV. For example, when hearing about exoskeletons, people expect to become like the Hulk, or when hearing about collaborative robots (cobots), people expect that these cobots will take over all their work.
Secondly, involving employees in technology research gives people power and a voice. It gives them the opportunity to influence the design of new technology, which is often overlooked. As they will be the ones who will be working with the technology and are affected the most, they should be able to express their opinion before making changes to the technology becomes too expensive.
In the past 10 years, we have worked on different (national or EU funded) projects including different technologies such as collaborative robots, exoskeletons, social robots and surgical robots. Based on our experience, we would like to share 5 tips to include (potential) future users in the context of research projects: what worked for us and what could be done better.
- Involve companies as a consortium member
In our opinion, the best way to include end users is to already involve them in the project consortium, for instance by participation of companies that employ them. In this way, time and budget can be included in the proposal to cover their time. It is important to communicate clearly what you need from them (e.g. what type of employees, what do they need to do, how much time will it take them) but also what they will get in return (for instance knowledge about and/or experience with a novel technology).
However, for various reasons, it is not always possible to include end-users in a project. Other ways to involve them is to recruit end users via social media, or organizations that have access to specific end users that are needed for your research. Foresee a budget to provide some type of ‘incentives’ for your participants, as a thank you for their contribution.
Finally, another way is to find end-user or employee representatives (for instance via unions). In Belgium, unions play a large role in society and often we were asked to present our research project to the union representatives.
- Observe end users in their work context
To improve our understanding of the needs of end users, we often use methods from design ethnography. In other words, we combine observations, such as several visits to their work environment and we conduct interviews to understand the context in which a person could use a technology in the future. From those real-life observations, you can learn information that you would otherwise not take into account. For example, when studying the use of social robots in a nursing home, we learned that the activity - such as playing Bingo – with a social robot was only one part of the process. The organizer from this activity first needed to test whether everything worked technically (WiFi that works), place the robot in the room where the activity would take place, and then pick up all the residents that were interested in taking part in this activity. In the operating theatre, we observed how the surgical team works together so closely, that often verbal communication is not needed and a surgical nurse just hands instruments at the moment a surgeon or assistant needs them.
- Go to the end-user and bring the technology to them
It is not always easy or possible to invite end-users to the research lab. If it is possible, bring the robot or exoskeleton to the user. In the past, we have brought a cobot to a car factory (Elprama et al., 2016) such that workers in there could interact with a cobot and share their opinions and concerns related to these robots. We also have brought occupational exoskeletons to trade fairs or events focused on surgical nurses to collect feedback on their opinion on the use of exoskeletons in their work environment.
- Give back to the end-users
You can provide feedback to the end-users involved in several ways. More direct ways in which we have given feedback is by presenting the findings to them. Other, less direct, strategies include writing texts intended for a more general audience like blog posts or presenting at events aimed at a general audience.
- Include social science researchers in your project
If you do not have the skills to include end-users in your project, find people who are trained and experienced to communicate with them such as social science researchers. They have a range of methods available to identify the needs of the users and potential barriers to the adoption of new technologies.
In conclusion, the involvement of employees in the research and development of robots and exoskeletons is essential. We shared our experiences with user involvement in research from the past decade. By including end users in the consortium, observing them in their work context, bringing the technology to them, and providing feedback, we can ensure that the technology developed is developed with the end user in mind. Furthermore, researchers from social science – like the authors – can bring expertise to a project to involve end users and to translate their experiences to user requirements. Such involvement can encourage the adoption of robotics and exoskeletons in the workplace.
If you want to involve end-users in your project, feel free to contact us.
Elprama, S. A., Makrini, I. El, Vanderborght, B., & Jacobs, A. (2016). Acceptance of collaborative robots by factory workers : a pilot study on the importance of social cues of anthropomorphic robots. Robot and Human Interactive Communication (ROMAN), 2016 25th IEEE International Sympoisium On.