Supporting a Deeper Understanding of Users in Robot-Assisted Therapies by Two-Level Personas

The users of assistive technologies are often insufficiently represented in design processes. As a consequence, designed systems can allow too few adjustments to specific contexts of use. The paper describes insights and challenges from a project on robotic-assisted rehabilitation therapies. It is suggested to use two-level personas to better cover two groups of users in therapeutic sessions. Patients are end-users of the therapeutic robots; they are assisted by therapists who should also be provided with means to act as designer-users. It is argued that proven user-centered design methods and representations need to be adapted or revised to better cope with the specific challenges of new technologies and consequences of their use.