Low-Cost Voice Assistant Design and Testing for Older Adults

Abstract

By the year 2050, at least 2 billion people will be over 60 years of age, making it one of the age groups of greatest concern. One of the biggest concerns of this group is loneliness and as a consequence of it, loss of autonomy and decreased daily activity. For this reason, we propose a virtual voice assistant made with open-source software and available technologies, allowing them to have accompaniment and improve interaction with technologies are proposed. Our development test had 89% correct answers and an estimated sale price of less than 150 USD. To test the assistant, we did tests with a group of older adults, who have no previous experience with this type of technology. Within our conclusions, the high willingness to use technologies by older adults is pointed out. Moreover, we conclude that the continuous use and greater confidence in technology motivates a more frequent use of it. Older adults have complexities with other languages, so voice assistants should prefer short, concise, and intuitive commands. Finally, it is concluded that social norms must be taken into account in this technology, otherwise, the error rate will increase.