The Evolution of Research on Robotic Technology for Older adults: A Bibliometric Analysis

As the global aging trend intensifies, the health and well-being of older adults have gradually become a critical area of concern. Robotic technology, an innovative technological approach, exhibits significant potential for enhancing older adults’ quality of life. An analysis and synthesis of research on robotics technology for older adults are essential to provide theoretical insights and practical guidance. In this study, we conducted a bibliometric analysis of 968 papers on robotic technology for older adults. Using VOSviewer and CiteSpace, we identified four clusters of the foundational theoretical framework by establishing a reference co-citation network. Furthermore, we developed a keywords co-occurrence clustering network, which elucidated the three primary research directions in robot technology for older adults: socio-technical robotics, social acceptance and human factors, and emotional companionship. In conclusion, our findings suggest four key directions for future research in this field: 1) Enhancing user experience and acceptance among older adults; 2) Leveraging robotic technology to address older adults’ psychophysical health issues; 3) Examining the ethical challenges of robotic technology faced by older adults, 4) Conducting longitudinal experiments in real-life living environments to evaluate intervention effectiveness of robotics technology.