Hospitality Oriented Service Perception Evolution With Robots (HOSPER)

Condition(s) studied

Investigational drug(s) / intervention(s)

Innovative hospital reception service with social robot NAO: The robot NAO welcomes the user and asks how it can assist them. At this point, the user responds, and the robot, in turn, replies in two possible ways: If it has not understood the request, it prompts the user to rephrase it, and the process returns to the previous point. If it has understood the request, it explains the route the user needs to follow. Once the interaction has been successful or two consecutive attempts have failed, the robot asks the user if the necessary information has been provided. If yes, the robot dismisses the user. If no, the interaction resumes from the point where the robot asks for the department to reach or the exam to take.

Innovative hospital reception service with social robot PEPPER: The robot PEPPER welcomes the user and asks how it can assist them, stating the following phrase: "Good morning and welcome to INRCA. I am PEPPER and I am here to provide directions to help you reach your desired location within the hospital. Which department do you need to reach or which exam do you need to take? " At this point, the user responds, and the robot, in turn, replies in two possible ways: If it has not understood the request, it prompts the user to rephrase it, and the process returns to the previous point. If it has understood the request, it explains the route the user needs to follow. Once the interaction has been successful or two consecutive attempts have failed, the robot asks the user if the necessary information has been provided. If yes, the robot dismisses the user as follows: "Thank you for your participation. Have a good day." If no, the interaction resumes from the point where the robot asks for the department to reach or the exam to take.

Study summary

The HOSPER project aims to determine if using Pepper and NAO social robots at the IRCCS INRCA in Ancona's (Italy) entrance is a viable way to improve the current reception and guidance services for hospital visitors. The robots will offer proactive assistance and directions to departments.

Eligibility

Primary outcome measure(s)

• perceived quality of the innovative reception service — immediately after the intervention
  The perceived quality will be evaluated by an ad hoc Customer Satisfaction questionnaire. The definition of this indicator is evaluated by quantifying several variables, including: the attention received from the robot in terms of accuracy of the interaction and courtesy (score from 1 - not at all satisfied - to 7 - very satisfied), the clarity and completeness of the information received (score from 1 - not at all satisfied - to 7 - very satisfied), the respect for personal privacy (score from 1 - not at all satisfied - to 7 - very satisfied), the overall satisfaction with the service provided (score from 1 - not at all satisfied - to 7 - very satisfied), and whether the service would be recommended to others (score from 1 - absolutely not - to 7 - definitely yes).

Trial sites (1)

More Istituto Nazionale di Ricovero e Cura per Anziani trials in Italy