[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-detail-82304-en":3,"doc-seo-82304-105":29,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":91},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",{"doc_id":7,"user_id":8,"nickname":9,"user_avatar":10,"doc_module":4,"category_id":11,"category_name":12,"doc_title":13,"doc_description":14,"doc_content":15,"file_id":16,"file_url":17,"file_type":18,"file_size":19,"view_count":20,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":20,"is_downloadable":20,"audit_status":20,"page_count":21,"language":22,"language_code":23,"site_id":24,"html_lang":23,"table_of_contents":25,"faqs":26,"seo_title":13,"seo_description":14,"update_tm":27,"read_time":28},82304,1374391974564,"Clementine","https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/avatar/14000253aa45c000a9e?x-image-process=image/resize,m_fixed,w_180,h_180&k=1779874745381141002",8,"Research & Report","Effects of Robotic Touch on Older Users During Walking Guidance by a Humanoid Robot","A shortage of healthcare staff challenges geriatric care, motivating the integration of assistive robots that offer both practical help and emotional support. Walking guidance is especially valuable because navigation abilities often decline with aging, yet guidance typically requires direct contact. This study examines how older adults perceive and respond to four robotic touch modes during guided walking, combining physiological measures with behavioral and questionnaire-based evaluations to assess stress, trust, comfort, and acceptance.","arXiv :2607 .09323v1 [ cs .RO] 10 Jul 2026  \nEffects of Robotic Touch on Older Users During Walking Guidance by a Humanoid Robot  \nLeonie Leven 1 , Marko Ackermann 1*, Christian Werner2 , Melina Schmetterer3 , Theresa Buchner2 , Monika Eckstein3 , Katja Mombaur 1,4  \n1 Institute for Anthropomatics and Robotics, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Karlsruhe, Germany.  \n2 Geriatric Center, Medical Faculty Heidelberg, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany.  \n3 Institute of Medical Psychology, University Hospital Heidelberg, and Ruprecht-Karls University Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany.  \n4 Systems Design Engineering Department, University of Waterloo, 200 University Avenue West, Waterloo, N2L 3G1, Ontario, Canada.  \n*Corresponding author(s). E-mail(s): [marko.ackermann@kit.edu](marko.ackermann@kit.edu) ; Contributing authors: [leonieleven@gmx.de](leonieleven@gmx.de) ; christian.werner@med.uni-heidelberg.de;  \n[melina.schmetterer@gmail.com](melina.schmetterer@gmail.com) ; theresa.buchner@med.uni-heidelberg.de; monika.eckstein@med.uni-heidelberg.de; [katja.mombaur@kit.edu](katja.mombaur@kit.edu) ;  \nAbstract  \nThe shortage of healthcare staff is a challenge in geriatric care. To address this, robots can be integrated into care settings to provide assistance and emotional support. A promising application is walking guidance, particularly benefiting older adults as navigation skills deteriorate with aging. As walking guidance involves direct contact, the aim of this study is to understand how older adults perceive and respond to different touch modes during guided walking. 24 older adults (68-88 yrs.) walked four times a ten-meter trajectory guided by the robot TIAGo Pro in four contact conditions: no physical contact (NC); physical contact through holding the robot’s wrist with the hand (HH); physical interaction through linking arms with the robot (LA); and physical contact through resting the forearm on the robots forearm (FC) . A multimodal assessment approach included electrocardiogram, electrodermal activity, contact force, distance to robot, and questionnaires. Physiological results reveal a slight increase in stress levels during robot interaction. Behavioural and subjective measures, however, show overall acceptance of robotic touch. The two conditions corresponding to larger interaction forces (HH and FC) were associated with lower relative distances between participant and robot, indicating a higher trust and confidence. Questionnaire responses supported these findings, evidencing greater perceived safety, trust and comfort in these conditions. This study provides insights for the design of robotic walking guidance assistance, indicating that gentle, stable touch is preferred by older adults in comparison to contactless interaction.  \nKeywords: physical human–robot interaction, robotic touch, walking guidance, mobility assistive robots, older adults  \n1 Introduction  \nStaff shortages in geriatric care represent a significant challenge in modern healthcare. Already in 2034 there will be a gap of 352 .000 missing caregivers in Germany [1] . To mitigate this problem, the possibility of using robotic assistants in healthcare facilities has gained increasing attention. Robots can support caregivers by taking over repetitive or demanding tasks, such as serving meals [2], or motivating residents to engage in physical and cognitive activities [3] .  \nBeyond these contact-free applications, robots can also play an important role in providing physical and emotional support. Many physically assistive applications require direct contact between human and robot to transmit force and perform tasks effectively. Physical human contact has been shown to have a calming and stress-reducing effect [4] and plays also a significant role in communication [5] . Therefore, it is reasonable to consider touch as a relevant factor in human–robot interaction. A foundational review by Eckstein et al. [6] examined touch inhuman–human, human–an","cbCaicENfWEOZKBl","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaicENfWEOZKBl","pdf",3840087,1,19,"English","en",105,"# Abstract\n# Introduction\n# Related Work\n# Study Overview\n## Touch Conditions\n## Multimodal Assessment\n## Key Findings\n# Discussion\n# Conclusion","[{\"question\":\"What problem does the study aim to address in geriatric care?\",\"answer\":\"The study targets staffing shortages in geriatric settings by exploring how robots can assist and provide emotional support during walking guidance.\"},{\"question\":\"Which robotic touch modes were compared during guided walking?\",\"answer\":\"Participants walked under four conditions: no physical contact (NC), holding the robot’s wrist (HH), linking arms with the robot (LA), and resting the forearm on the robot’s forearm (FC).\"},{\"question\":\"What do the results suggest about older adults’ preferences for robotic touch?\",\"answer\":\"Overall, older adults showed acceptance of robotic touch, and the HH and FC conditions—associated with higher interaction forces—were linked to greater trust, confidence, and perceived safety and comfort, despite a slight stress increase physiologically.\"}]",1784179501,48,{"code":4,"msg":30,"data":31},"ok",{"site_id":24,"language":23,"slug":32,"title":13,"keywords":33,"description":14,"schema_data":34,"social_meta":86,"head_meta":88,"extra_data":90,"updated_unix":27},"effects-of-robotic-touch-on-older-users-during-walking-guidance-by-a-humanoid-robot","",{"@graph":35,"@context":85},[36,53,68],{"@type":37,"itemListElement":38},"BreadcrumbList",[39,43,47,50],{"item":40,"name":41,"@type":42,"position":20},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":44,"name":45,"@type":42,"position":46},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":48,"name":12,"@type":42,"position":49},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/",3,{"item":51,"name":13,"@type":42,"position":52},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/effects-of-robotic-touch-on-older-users-during-walking-guidance-by-a-humanoid-robot/82304/",4,{"url":51,"name":13,"@type":54,"author":55,"headline":13,"publisher":57,"fileFormat":60,"inLanguage":23,"description":14,"dateModified":61,"datePublished":62,"encodingFormat":60,"isAccessibleForFree":63,"interactionStatistic":64},"DigitalDocument",{"name":9,"@type":56},"Person",{"url":40,"name":58,"@type":59},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-07-17","2026-07-16",true,{"@type":65,"interactionType":66,"userInteractionCount":20},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":67},"ViewAction",{"@type":69,"mainEntity":70},"FAQPage",[71,77,81],{"name":72,"@type":73,"acceptedAnswer":74},"What problem does the study aim to address in geriatric care?","Question",{"text":75,"@type":76},"The study targets staffing shortages in geriatric settings by exploring how robots can assist and provide emotional support during walking guidance.","Answer",{"name":78,"@type":73,"acceptedAnswer":79},"Which robotic touch modes were compared during guided walking?",{"text":80,"@type":76},"Participants walked under four conditions: no physical contact (NC), holding the robot’s wrist (HH), linking arms with the robot (LA), and resting the forearm on the robot’s forearm (FC).",{"name":82,"@type":73,"acceptedAnswer":83},"What do the results suggest about older adults’ preferences for robotic touch?",{"text":84,"@type":76},"Overall, older adults showed acceptance of robotic touch, and the HH and FC conditions—associated with higher interaction forces—were linked to greater trust, confidence, and perceived safety and comfort, despite a slight stress increase physiologically.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":51,"og:type":87,"og:title":13,"og:site_name":58,"og:description":14},"article",{"robots":89,"canonical":51},"index,follow",{"doc_id":7,"site_id":24},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":92},[93,97,101,105,110,115,120,123,128,131,135],{"id":20,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":45,"category_name":94,"show_sort_weight":95,"slug":96},"Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":46,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":45,"category_name":98,"show_sort_weight":99,"slug":100},"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":52,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":45,"category_name":102,"show_sort_weight":103,"slug":104},"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":106,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":45,"category_name":107,"show_sort_weight":108,"slug":109},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":111,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":45,"category_name":112,"show_sort_weight":113,"slug":114},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":116,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":45,"category_name":117,"show_sort_weight":118,"slug":119},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":11,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":45,"category_name":12,"show_sort_weight":121,"slug":122},30,"research-report",{"id":124,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":45,"category_name":125,"show_sort_weight":126,"slug":127},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":126,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":45,"category_name":129,"show_sort_weight":126,"slug":130},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":132,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":45,"category_name":133,"show_sort_weight":132,"slug":134},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":21,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":45,"category_name":136,"show_sort_weight":106,"slug":137},"General","general"]