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Understanding the Impact of Robots’ Embodiment on User Acceptance and Engagement: Perspectives of Older Adults from Pakistan

Sunbul M. Ahmad Orcid Logo, Muneeb Ahmad Orcid Logo, Carolina Fuentes Orcid Logo, Nervo Verdezoto Orcid Logo, Katarzyna Stawarz Orcid Logo

International Journal of Social Robotics, Volume: 17, Issue: 11, Pages: 2769 - 2788

Swansea University Author: Muneeb Ahmad Orcid Logo

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DOI (Published version): 10.1007/s12369-025-01314-6

Abstract

With Global South’s (GS) aging population and advancements in technology, social robots have emerged as a potential alternative for supporting elderly care. However, there is a limited research investigating the engagement and acceptance of technology in GS. This paper investigates the engagement wi...

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Published in: International Journal of Social Robotics
ISSN: 1875-4791 1875-4805
Published: Springer Science and Business Media LLC 2025
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URI: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa71302
first_indexed 2026-01-23T22:01:26Z
last_indexed 2026-02-03T05:33:04Z
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spelling 2026-02-02T15:21:51.9968120 v2 71302 2026-01-23 Understanding the Impact of Robots’ Embodiment on User Acceptance and Engagement: Perspectives of Older Adults from Pakistan 9c42fd947397b1ad2bfa9107457974d5 0000-0001-8111-9967 Muneeb Ahmad Muneeb Ahmad true false 2026-01-23 MACS With Global South’s (GS) aging population and advancements in technology, social robots have emerged as a potential alternative for supporting elderly care. However, there is a limited research investigating the engagement and acceptance of technology in GS. This paper investigates the engagement with and acceptance of three differently embodied social robots (Vector, Miro, Nao) among older adults in Pakistan. Through mixed methods, including interviews, questionnaires and interactions with the robots, this study explored the perspectives of 14 Pakistani older adults, including their thoughts on potential use of robots in home settings. Our findings highlight concerns that need to be addressed for a successful deployment of social robots in Pakistani context: existing cultural differences, older adult’s technological literacy, and language barriers. Participants preferred a human-like Nao robot because it was perceived as more reliable and familiar, partly due to exposure to robots in the media. Based on these results, we propose design considerations for deploying social robots in Pakistani home settings. Journal Article International Journal of Social Robotics 17 11 2769 2788 Springer Science and Business Media LLC 1875-4791 1875-4805 Global south; Social robots; Older adults; Pakistan; Culture; Home settings 1 11 2025 2025-11-01 10.1007/s12369-025-01314-6 COLLEGE NANME Mathematics and Computer Science School COLLEGE CODE MACS Swansea University Another institution paid the OA fee This study has been funded by School of Computer Science and Informatics, Cardiff University. 2026-02-02T15:21:51.9968120 2026-01-23T20:47:25.6329349 Faculty of Science and Engineering School of Mathematics and Computer Science - Computer Science Sunbul M. Ahmad 0009-0009-3685-2452 1 Muneeb Ahmad 0000-0001-8111-9967 2 Carolina Fuentes 0000-0002-0871-939x 3 Nervo Verdezoto 0000-0001-5006-4262 4 Katarzyna Stawarz 0000-0001-9021-0615 5 71302__36166__23fcbc41895d405ba68dbfd7ee408bbf.pdf 71302.VoR.pdf 2026-02-02T15:19:42.1902862 Output 2950403 application/pdf Version of Record true © The Author(s) 2025. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. true eng http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
title Understanding the Impact of Robots’ Embodiment on User Acceptance and Engagement: Perspectives of Older Adults from Pakistan
spellingShingle Understanding the Impact of Robots’ Embodiment on User Acceptance and Engagement: Perspectives of Older Adults from Pakistan
Muneeb Ahmad
title_short Understanding the Impact of Robots’ Embodiment on User Acceptance and Engagement: Perspectives of Older Adults from Pakistan
title_full Understanding the Impact of Robots’ Embodiment on User Acceptance and Engagement: Perspectives of Older Adults from Pakistan
title_fullStr Understanding the Impact of Robots’ Embodiment on User Acceptance and Engagement: Perspectives of Older Adults from Pakistan
title_full_unstemmed Understanding the Impact of Robots’ Embodiment on User Acceptance and Engagement: Perspectives of Older Adults from Pakistan
title_sort Understanding the Impact of Robots’ Embodiment on User Acceptance and Engagement: Perspectives of Older Adults from Pakistan
author_id_str_mv 9c42fd947397b1ad2bfa9107457974d5
author_id_fullname_str_mv 9c42fd947397b1ad2bfa9107457974d5_***_Muneeb Ahmad
author Muneeb Ahmad
author2 Sunbul M. Ahmad
Muneeb Ahmad
Carolina Fuentes
Nervo Verdezoto
Katarzyna Stawarz
format Journal article
container_title International Journal of Social Robotics
container_volume 17
container_issue 11
container_start_page 2769
publishDate 2025
institution Swansea University
issn 1875-4791
1875-4805
doi_str_mv 10.1007/s12369-025-01314-6
publisher Springer Science and Business Media LLC
college_str Faculty of Science and Engineering
hierarchytype
hierarchy_top_id facultyofscienceandengineering
hierarchy_top_title Faculty of Science and Engineering
hierarchy_parent_id facultyofscienceandengineering
hierarchy_parent_title Faculty of Science and Engineering
department_str School of Mathematics and Computer Science - Computer Science{{{_:::_}}}Faculty of Science and Engineering{{{_:::_}}}School of Mathematics and Computer Science - Computer Science
document_store_str 1
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description With Global South’s (GS) aging population and advancements in technology, social robots have emerged as a potential alternative for supporting elderly care. However, there is a limited research investigating the engagement and acceptance of technology in GS. This paper investigates the engagement with and acceptance of three differently embodied social robots (Vector, Miro, Nao) among older adults in Pakistan. Through mixed methods, including interviews, questionnaires and interactions with the robots, this study explored the perspectives of 14 Pakistani older adults, including their thoughts on potential use of robots in home settings. Our findings highlight concerns that need to be addressed for a successful deployment of social robots in Pakistani context: existing cultural differences, older adult’s technological literacy, and language barriers. Participants preferred a human-like Nao robot because it was perceived as more reliable and familiar, partly due to exposure to robots in the media. Based on these results, we propose design considerations for deploying social robots in Pakistani home settings.
published_date 2025-11-01T05:34:59Z
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