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Purpose: The elderly population faces reduced levels of health and performance, which necessitates the use of rehabilitation assistive technologies to maximize functional independence in daily activities. This study aimed to explain the experiences of the elderly regarding the use of rehabilitation assistive technologies based on the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology. Methods: The present study was a qualitative study of the type of content analysis that was conducted in the city of Hamadan in 2022. Participants included 20 elderly aged 60 years or above who were selected as a purposive sample and subjected to individual semi-structured in-depth interviews. Data were analyzed using directed qualitative content analysis based on Hsieh and Shannon's approach. Data were coded using MAXQDA software (MAXQDA Analytics Pro 2020, VERBI GmbH Berlin). Results: According to the results, 260 primary codes were extracted, and they were classified into five predetermined categories of the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology, including performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, facilitating conditions, and behavioral intention, as well as two new categories of technology anxiety and perceived need for technology. After extracting 260 primary codes based on the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology, 75 sub-categories were identified in 14 main categories. Conclusion: The themes obtained from the study indicate the necessity of providing the required conditions to maintain the complete independence and health of the elderly and strengthen their morale. The results can be helpful in the development of support strategies for family members, healthcare providers, and policymakers. IMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATION: Assistive rehabilitation technologies include low-tech assistive technologies. The use of assistive rehabilitation technologies is a potential solution to improve balance, quality of life, and increase activity and functional independence in the elderly. Since peers play a very important role as technology advocates in the intention to accept and use assistive technologies, the expression of the experiences and views of the elderly can encourage and support the use of assistive rehabilitation technologies by other elderly. This study found that the use of assistive rehabilitation technologies by the elderly is a relatively complex issue with various personal, social, economic, cultural and physical aspects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The emergence of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Virtual Reality (VR) technologies offers transformative potential for the advancement of inclusive education, particularly for students with disabilities. This systematic review critically evaluates the current state of research to assess the impact of AI and VR on enhancing educational accessibility, personalisation and social inclusion in education. AI-driven adaptive systems can dynamically tailor learning experiences to individual needs, while VR offers immersive, multi-sensory environments that promote experiential learning. Despite these advances, the review also identifies significant challenges, including the high cost of implementation, technical barriers and limited teacher readiness, which hinder widespread adoption. Ethical concerns such as privacy and algorithmic bias are cited as key areas that need careful consideration. The findings underscore the urgent need for further empirical research to explore the long-term impact of these technologies and advocate for more equitable access to AI and VR tools in underserved educational settings. Ultimately, the review highlights the importance of integrating AI and VR as part of a broader strategy to foster genuinely inclusive learning environments that align with the goals of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The accuracy of satellite-based positioning systems is poor in indoor environments and around built environments. Reading and following visual cues still remain the most common mechanism for providing and receiving wayfinding information in such spaces. This reliance on visual function for wayfinding puts individuals who are blind or visually impaired (BVI) at a great disadvantage, and there remains a great need to provide a low-cost, easy-to-use, and reliable wayfinding system within indoor and outdoor spaces that complements existing satellite-based systems. This paper presents the design, implementation, and evaluation of an initial prototype wayfinding system and smartphone application called CityGuide that can be used by BVI individuals to navigate their surroundings beyond what is possible with just a GPS-based system. CityGuide enables an individual to query and get turn-by-turn shortest route directions from an indoor location to an outdoor location. CityGuide leverages recently developed Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) indoor wayfinding solutions in conjunction with satellite signals to provide a seamless indoor–outdoor navigation and wayfinding system that guides a BVI individual to their desired destination through the shortest route. Evaluations of CityGuide with BVI human subjects within an unfamiliar university campus scenario demonstrated its potential to be effective compared to other popularly used apps. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractContextPurposeMethods and resultsConclusion and implications\nIMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATIONContemporary technologies, such as mainstream and specialised Assistive Technologies (ATs), are seen as effective. However, there is a noticeable gap between technological progress and the ability to customise these technologies to meet the unique needs and characteristics of neurodivergent individuals, particularly those on the Autism Spectrum and people with Intellectual Disability (pwID).The goal of this study is to investigate the present requirements and future priorities acknowledged by specialists in the field regarding the progress of social inclusion for this population, making use of ATs.A qualitative survey involving 24 international experts, and its respective thematic analysis reveals challenges in social inclusion, emphasizing communication and physical accessibility, awareness gaps, and stigma. Concurrently, issues surrounding ATs include limited access, insufficient training, and a lack of awareness and skills, with individuals, and families being inadequately involved.The study proposes strategies for overcoming these challenges, with a focus on accessibility, awareness, skills, family involvement, and customization. Identified research needs encompass scientific development, inclusive approaches, and changes in technological development paradigms.Customization and Accessibility of Assistive Technologies (ATs): The research emphasizes the critical gap between existing ATs and their alignment with the needs of people with Intellectual Disability (pwID) and those on the autism spectrum. This is crucial for rehabilitation since its effectiveness is based on the consideration of individual requirements. In this sense, the present study involves enhancing the adaptability of technologies to support varied communication styles and learning abilities, thereby promoting greater independence and participation in daily activities, also through rehabilitation.Policy and Infrastructure Development: In an innovative manner, the study points out the systemic challenges, including inadequate policies and lack of support infrastructure, that hinder the effective use of ATs. For rehabilitation practices to be impactful, there is a need for policy reform and infrastructure development that prioritizes the provision and integration of ATs into education, employment, and community living. This includes ensuring funding for AT acquisition, creating inclusive educational and work environments, and improving public spaces to accommodate the needs of pwID and on the autism spectrum.Involvement of Individuals and Families in the AT Development Process: The paper highlights the limited involvement of individuals with ID and on the autism spectrum, and their families, in the process of developing and selecting ATs. Therefore, an important implication for rehabilitation is the need to adopt a person-centred approach that actively involves these individuals and their families in decision-making processes and, whenever possible, in co-creation processes. This approach ensures that AT solutions are better suited to the users’ preferences, challenges, and daily life contexts, thereby enhancing the effectiveness of technological aids in supporting social inclusion and autonomy.Adoption of Qualitative, In-Depth Methods in AT Research: The adoption of qualitative research methods in disability and health research significantly contributes to the development of human-centred, context-driven, and personalized technologies and rehabilitation strategies.Customization and Accessibility of Assistive Technologies (ATs): The research emphasizes the critical gap between existing ATs and their alignment with the needs of people with Intellectual Disability (pwID) and those on the autism spectrum. This is crucial for rehabilitation since its effectiveness is based on the consideration of individual requirements. In this sense, the present study involves enhancing the adaptability of technologies to support varied communication styles and learning abilities, thereby promoting greater independence and participation in daily activities, also through rehabilitation.Policy and Infrastructure Development: In an innovative manner, the study points out the systemic challenges, including inadequate policies and lack of support infrastructure, that hinder the effective use of ATs. For rehabilitation practices to be impactful, there is a need for policy reform and infrastructure development that prioritizes the provision and integration of ATs into education, employment, and community living. This includes ensuring funding for AT acquisition, creating inclusive educational and work environments, and improving public spaces to accommodate the needs of pwID and on the autism spectrum.Involvement of Individuals and Families in the AT Development Process: The paper highlights the limited involvement of individuals with ID and on the autism spectrum, and their families, in the process of developing and selecting ATs. Therefore, an important implication for rehabilitation is the need to adopt a person-centred approach that actively involves these individuals and their families in decision-making processes and, whenever possible, in co-creation processes. This approach ensures that AT solutions are better suited to the users’ preferences, challenges, and daily life contexts, thereby enhancing the effectiveness of technological aids in supporting social inclusion and autonomy.Adoption of Qualitative, In-Depth Methods in AT Research: The adoption of qualitative research methods in disability and health research significantly contributes to the development of human-centred, context-driven, and personalized technologies and rehabilitation strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several assistive technologies (ATs) have been manufactured and tested to alleviate the challenges of deaf or hearing-impaired people (DHI). One such technology is sound detection, which has the potential to enhance the experiences of DHI individuals and provide them with new opportunities. However, there is a lack of sufficient research on using sound detection as an assistive technology, specifically for DHI individuals. This systematic literature review (SLR) aims to shed light on the application of non-verbal sound detection technology in skill development for DHI individuals. This SLR encompassed recent, high-quality studies from the prestigious databases of IEEE, ScienceDirect, Scopus, and Web of Science from 2014 to 2023. Twenty-six articles that met the eligibility criteria were carefully analyzed and synthesized. The findings of this study underscore the significance of utilizing sound detection technology to aid DHI individuals in achieving independence, access to information, and safety. It is recommended that additional studies be conducted to explore the use of sound detection tools as assistive technology, to enhance DHI individual's sustainable quality of life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted daily routines, causing isolation and quarantine. Technology has emerged as a crucial tool for sustaining essential activities, but children with autism spectrum disorders have faced distinct challenges due to their intricate interaction with it. We employed an online survey to analyse the impact of technology use in online learning, remote assistance and daily life of children with autism along COVID-19, and we have identified benefits and challenges with assistive technology exposed by the pandemic. Findings are divided in (1) seven themes where COVID-19 impacted this population the most and their relationship with technology (remote communication, learning, emotional management, entertainment management, executive functions, activities of daily living, and physical activity and motor skills), and (2) a mapping of technological categories that define the working areas specifically aimed to cover the special needs of children with autism whenever face-to-face interactions are not possible (attention, authoring tools, calculation, e-learning, emotions, entertainment, experience of self, language and communication, memory, planning and time management, social networking, and social skills). These results help provide a more well-rounded knowledge of how to improve technology to make it accessible to autistic children, to handle and avoid services interruption in similar scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

(1) Background: The influence of robotic therapy on patients with sub-acute cervical spinal cord injury (SCI) for improving their activities of daily living (ADL) performance is unclear; (2) Methods: 31 subjects with cervical SCI completed the training randomly assigned to an intervention or control group during 40 sessions. All the subjects received, in each session, 30 min of upper-extremity conventional therapy. In addition, the subjects within the control group received another 30 min of conventional therapy, whereas subjects within the intervention group received 30 min of robotic therapy with Armeo Spring (Hocoma AG, Volketswil, Switzerland). Therefore, the ADL of drinking was trained by using the exoskeleton. Feasibility and efficacy measurements as clinical scales and kinematic indices, and usability questionnaires, were used as assessment at baseline and at the ending of the study (week 10); (3) Results: The intervention group significantly improved with regards to the feeding and grooming items of the Spinal Cord Independence Measure scale. The improvement in the movement smoothness related to the activity of drinking was greater in the intervention group than in the control (p = 0.034); (4) Conclusions: The findings of this study reveal that patients with cervical SCI improve their performance in ADL with robotic therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista Foco (Interdisciplinary Studies Journal) is the property of Revista Foco and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Although numerous technology-based assistive devices are available for use by people with intellectual disabilities, device adoption rates of are often low. The current research examined reasons for non-adoption among two samples of people with mild intellectual disabilities focusing on transportation: an area of great concern for individuals with intellectual disabilities. The influences on adoption or non-adoption of the perceived benefits of assistive devices were assessed together with the effects of device complexity, transportation self-efficacy, desire for self-determination regarding transport, technophobia, and the desire to be seen to "fit in" with wider society when wearing a device. Interviews were conducted with 44 people attending a support venue in southwest London. Outcomes to the interviews were employed in the formation of a questionnaire distributed to a wider national sample of people with mild intellectual disabilities. Interview and survey questions were created using Tourangeau's investigation method. Responses to the survey were subjected to a logistic regression analysis. Technophobia, transportation self-efficacy and desires for self-determination and to "fit-in" exerted powerful impacts on device adoption. Campaigns and activities designed to increase adoption rates need to recognise these important influences. Encouraging people with intellectual disabilities to adopt assistive technologies is highly desirable because of the latter's ability improve a person's quality of life. Government and manufacturers as well as carers have critical roles to play in securing device adoption. Training of individuals and their carers in device features and application is essential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista Foco (Interdisciplinary Studies Journal) is the property of Revista Foco and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Information and Communication Technologies have transformed our lives in different social areas, facilitating interpersonal relationships thanks to technological tools. In the specific case of people with disabilities, Assistive Technologies (ATs) break down barriers and increase opportunities to become active members of society with equal opportunities. This paper presents a systematic mapping study that analyzes the current state-of-the-art of ATs proposed in the literature to support the empowering of people with disability. Specifically, this paper focuses on (1) describing a global vision of the scientific literature published in the last 20 years about ATs in the computer science field and (2) identifying research needs, gaps, and trends. For this purpose, an in-depth analysis of 389 primary studies is presented. The information obtained from the mapping process is also constrained. Concretely, 35 ATs versus 22 disabilities are compared, obtaining striking peaks for some disabilities described in the discussion. Finally, the findings show that several areas have been covered only lightly, revealing interesting future directions and challenges for junior researchers. • ATs have the potential to break down barriers for people with disabilities, enabling them to participate more fully in society. This implies a need for rehabilitation programs to incorporate ATs into their strategies to enhance social inclusion. • Given the transformative role of ICT, rehabilitation programs should focus on helping people with disabilities develop the necessary technological skills to utilize ATs effectively. • This work highlights the diversity of ATs and disabilities, suggesting a need for personalized rehabilitation plans that match specific ATs to individual disabilities. • Rehabilitation professionals should be trained to assess and recommend appropriate ATs for each case. Rehabilitation programs should consider incorporating cutting-edge ATs and staying involved in research to contribute to future developments to cover gaps and challenges identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to investigate the provision and need for assistive products for older adults with cognitive impairment among rehabilitation therapists, identify any unmet needs, and analyze current issues in providing such products. We conducted a questionnaire survey with rehabilitation therapists involved in selecting and providing assistive products for cognitive function in older adults with cognitive impairments. Questionnaires comprising ten items about the experience and need for cognitive assistive products were sent to 300 facilities for older adults in Japan between January and February 2021. One hundred thirty-five responses were received. The mean age of the participants was 39.5 ± SD7.1. There were 70 females, 64 males, and one unanswered questionnaire. In total, 72 (53.3%) of the 135 therapists had introduced or provided assistive products to their patients. The most frequently provided products were for safety and security; some were provided to support memory and orientation. 86% of therapists did not use the insurance system to provide them. The survey showed that most participants with experience providing assistive products needed information on the available resources. Although the need for assistive products for cognition is increasing, they are not sufficiently supplied in caring for older adults with cognitive impairment. Their availability differed depending on the assistive product type. It is necessary to have an effective social insurance system and access to up-to-date information to provide appropriate assistive products. Assistive products are still underutilized in dementia care. This is despite the strong recognition among rehabilitation professionals, with experience providing assistive products for cognition, that assistive products are necessary for older adults with cognitive impairment. Professionals need access to information to provide appropriate assistive products to aid cognition. Improving public insurance systems and information accessibility can support rehabilitation professionals in providing effective assistive products for older adults with cognitive impairment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. The World Health Organization recognizes that participation is important to individuals’ well being; yet, autistic children participate in fewer activities compared to neurotypical children. This article aims to describe the role of autism assistance dogs (AADs) in promoting participation and engagement in occupations and activities of daily living (ADLs) for autistic children. Method. A qualitative interpretative phenomenological design was used. Two semi-structured interviews from a narrative perspective were conducted with each participant. Four volunteer parents and primary handlers of their child’s AAD participated in the study. Inductive analysis was used to interpret openended questions. Following transcription, Creswell’s thematic analysis was used to develop codes and theoretical perspectives to better understand the lived experience of AAD users. Results. The single overarching theme identified in this study was: The Multi-Factored Role of Autism Assistance Dogs. Conclusion. AADs are a valuable, alternative form of adaptive equipment for autistic children that can serve a broad purpose in increasing participation in daily life. This area of practice is an appropriate location for occupational therapists to concentrate interventions when working with families with autistic children. This is a novel research topic that is important and deserves further study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Assistive technologies play a major role in bridging the accessibility gap in arts (especially paintings). Despite the constant advancements in these areas, the visually impaired often encounter challenges in independently experiencing and interpreting paintings. Our goal was to effectively convey the contents of a painting to visually impaired students using selected multi-sensory stimuli (tactile, auditory, and somatosensory) to compensate for the loss of input from the sense of sight. A prototype (named SEMA—Specially Enhanced Multi-sensory Art) was developed around a simple painting to incorporate descriptive outputs of the aforementioned stimuli. The prototype was developed and refined iteratively with the visually impaired students at the University of Colombo, Sri Lanka. We evaluated all the systems individually using the user feedback and several quantitative and qualitative measures were adopted to analyze the results. The final user study with 22 visually impaired participants yielded a strong preference (92.6 %) for the prototype and highlighted its potential to enhance the art experiences. The findings of this study contribute to the further exploration of multi-sensory integration in entertainment and its impact on the visually impaired community.

This research aims to ascertain the metaphorical perceptions of families with children with visual impairment regarding assistive technologies. The phenomenological pattern, a qualitative research approach, was utilized in this research. Fifty-four families with children with visual impairment participated in this research. The research employed a data collection tool comprising two sections. The first part captured the demographic information of the families, while the second part featured an open-ended questionnaire containing the prompt, "Assistive technologies are like/similar to… because..." The research data underwent content analysis. Ultimately, the researcher identified 47 distinct metaphors that families with children with visual impairment associated with assistive technologies. Overall, metaphors such as "eye," "family," "friend," "book," "light," "school," "compass," and "star" were prominent. Furthermore, the researcher categorized the metaphors devised by the families with children with visual impairment into six distinct themes: "support," "guidance," "education," "facilitating life," "entertainment," and "independence."

Zaki Brahmi,1 Mohammad Mahyoob,2 Mohammed Al-Sarem,1 Jeehaan Algaraady,3 Khadija Bousselmi,4 Abdulaziz Alblwi1 1Department of Computer Science, Taibah University, Madina, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; 2Department of Languages and Translation, Taibah University, Madina, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; 3Department of English, Taiz University, Taiz, Yemen; 4Department of Computer Science, LISTIC, University of Savoie Mont Blanc, Chambéry, FranceCorrespondence: Mohammad Mahyoob, Email mqassem@taibahu.edu.saPurpose: Speech disorders profoundly impact the overall quality of life by impeding social operations and hindering effective communication. This study addresses the gap in systematic reviews concerning machine learning-based assistive technology for individuals with speech disorders. The overarching purpose is to offer a comprehensive overview of the field through a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) and provide valuable insights into the landscape of ML-based solutions and related studies.Methods: The research employs a systematic approach, utilizing a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) methodology. The study extensively examines the existing literature on machine learning-based assistive technology for speech disorders. Specific attention is given to ML techniques, characteristics of exploited datasets in the training phase, speaker languages, feature extraction techniques, and the features employed by ML algorithms.Originality: This study contributes to the existing literature by systematically exploring the machine learning landscape in assistive technology for speech disorders. The originality lies in the focused investigation of ML-speech recognition for impaired speech disorder users over ten years (2014– 2023). The emphasis on systematic research questions related to ML techniques, dataset characteristics, languages, feature extraction techniques, and feature sets adds a unique and comprehensive perspective to the current discourse.Findings: The systematic literature review identifies significant trends and critical studies published between 2014 and 2023. In the analysis of the 65 papers from prestigious journals, support vector machines and neural networks (CNN, DNN) were the most utilized ML technique (20%, 16.92%), with the most studied disease being Dysarthria (35/65, 54% studies). Furthermore, an upsurge in using neural network-based architectures, mainly CNN and DNN, was observed after 2018. Almost half of the included studies were published between 2021 and 2022).Keywords: speech disorder, speech recognition, dysarthria, machine learning, assistive technologies

Abstract Background People with physical disabilities due to disease or injury face barriers to their daily activities and participation in society. Many depend on formal or informal caregivers for assistance to live independently. However, future healthcare challenges due to demographic changes threaten access to home care and assistants. Assistive technologies, such as robots for physical assistance, can support the independence and autonomy of people with physical disabilities. This study explore Norwegian care-receivers’ perceptions of using robot assistance in their homes, including preferences for tasks acceptable or unacceptable for robot assistance and the underlying reasons. Method Purposive sampling was employed to recruit 18 participants, aged between 18 and 77 years, with differences in physical function including diagnoses such as stroke, spinal cord injury, amputations, and muscular dystrophy. Qualitative data were gathered through four focus group interviews wherein participants watched videos featuring a humanoid assistive robot, EVEr3. The collected data underwent analysis using reflexive thematic analysis. Results Three themes with associated sub-themes were constructed: (a) How a robot could assist in daily life, (b) The robot’s appearance and functionality, and (c) Concerns about having a robot as an assistant. The participants welcomed the idea of a future robotic assistant in areas that may contribute to an increased feeling of independence and autonomy. Conclusion A robot assisting in activities of daily living would need to be individually customized to meet the needs of each user in terms of which tasks to assist with, how to assist in these defined tasks, and how it is controlled.

In the current industrial context, the human workforce still represents a key resource thanks to its cognitive and motor flexibility. The present work explores the role of Industry 4.0 assistive technologies in production and logistics systems from a human-centric perspective. These technologies aim to provide cognitive or physical support to operators executing manual tasks, rather than substituting them. Therefore, there is need for a comprehensive understanding of the impact of assistive technologies on the well-being and performance of operators from a human-centric perspective. In this paper, a literature review on available assistive technologies is provided. Technologies are classified based on the type of manual task (picking, assembly), type of support provided to the operator (cognitive, motor), and potential drawbacks. Outcomes emphasize the need of a thorough human-centric perspective in developing and deploying assistive technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores how Artificial Intelligence (AI) can be integrated into the care of dependent and disabled people in Spain, highlighting its capacity to promote autonomy and person-centred care. Inspired by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the document proposes a shift from the institutionalised care model to a more community and homeintegrated one, where technology, especially AI, plays a crucial role. The benefits and risks of AI in care are discussed, such as improving quality of life and service efficiency, while raising the need for careful analysis to avoid discrimination and ensure respect for human rights. In addition, examples of current technologies, such as home care robots and remote monitoring systems, are detailed, showing the increasing integration of AI in the field of care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Customizing the accessibility and ease-of-use settings of a computer can improve the overall user experience for people with and without disabilities. However, the adoption of such settings remains poor. This study investigates why various factors may influence people as they personalize and when they choose to integrate those changes into everyday use. Methods: To better understand how these factors may impact people's personalization process, we conducted a series of interviews involving 15 people with and without disabilities across several months in 2020 when computer usage became required due to the COVID-19 lockdown. We used grounded theory to analyze 49 semi-structured interviews with participants. During these interviews, people reflected upon: past attempts at personalization using built-in accessibility or ease-of-use features of their Operating System (OS) or other assistive technologies (AT), current customization activities using the personalization software, Morphic, and future opportunities for personalization systems and features. Results: We identified several barriers, facilitators, and perpetuating factors that can influence why and when people choose to adopt and integrate their personalization changes. We also outline the overall personalization lifecycle, which illustrates when various factors may impact computer personalization. Conclusion: Personalization activities are complex and easily affected by an ecosystem of influential factors that surround them. When paired with the three design considerations and ten lessons learned from this qualitative study, the overall personalization lifecycle may be useful during the design and development of future personalization systems or features for people with and without disabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Assistive robots have the potential to support independence, enhance safety, and lower healthcare costs for older adults, as well as alleviate the demands of their care partners. However, ensuring that these robots will effectively and reliably address end-user needs in the long term requires user-specific design factors to be considered during the robot development process. To identify these design factors, we embedded Stretch, a mobile manipulator created by Hello Robot Inc., in the home of an older adult with motor impairments and his care partner for four weeks to support them with everyday activities. An occupational therapist and a robotics engineer lived with them during this period, employing an immersive participatory design approach to co-design and customise the robot with them. We highlight the benefits of this immersive participatory design experience and provide insights into robot design that can be applied broadly to other assistive technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]