On August 23, the fourth workshop with the Patient Advisory Board took place – this time in person at the TU Berlin. The focus was on issues of motivating participants in the field study, designing specific assistance services, and defining a social for the assistance system.
Motivating patients to participate in our field study is a critical factor in our project, and we have therefore discussed the best ways to achieve this goal. Demonstrating concrete health benefits for participants and contributing to health research are intended to provide a noticeable incentive to participate.
The discussion on assistance services led to a variety of suggestions. Various assistance services were proposed, including motivational interjections, side conversations for distraction and increased concentration, approaches from the field of gamification, and the use of smileys as progress bars (similar to those at highway construction sites). The possibility of using color changes or music to make interactions more engaging was also considered. It was emphasized that the inquiry about assistance services and needs should take place at the beginning of the interaction. Particularly noteworthy are ideas for individual adjustments to voice output, which include a dynamic adjustment of speech speed and pitch to potentially enhance the personalization of the user experience. The questionnaire app, used for the actual collection of health data, was also a subject of debate. Several nuances in design as well as usability were provided as feedback.
The appearance of the assistance system was also discussed. Based on the use of Furhat (see the post about the third meeting), we had suggested equipping the robot with a neutral but recognizable medical working attire associated with an organizational. The board received this proposal positively and made specific decisions regarding the choice of clothing, and its color, and suggested adding a name tag with an organizational affiliation.