The aging population is increasing around the world. Singapore’s older adult population, for instance, has increased dramatically over the last decade. The number of older adults, aged 65 years and older, living alone in Singapore is expected to increase significantly from 47,000 in 2016 to 83,000 by 2030 [1]. These demographic changes have led to concerns about older adults’ loneliness and social isolation (ie, lack of companionship), which can impact their mental and physical well-being [2]. Indeed, it is estimated that 20% to 34% of older adults experience loneliness in China, Europe, Latin America, and the United States [3]. As a result, advanced technologies have been developed to help the aging population overcome health and psychosocial issues and become more independent. Social robots, also called companion robots or therapeutic robots, have recently gained popularity with numerous studies highlighting the psychosocial benefits they provide to older adults [4]. However, there is a lack of studies on the use of social robots, particularly in Asian countries. This study fills this gap in the literature by investigating how older Singaporeans accept and interact with LOVOT (Love+Robot), a Japanese social robot.

Loneliness is not synonymous with being alone or living alone; a person can experience loneliness even when they are surrounded by other people. Rather, loneliness is a subjective and unpleasant experience that begins when a person’s social network goes through a qualitative or quantitative loss resulting in a discrepancy between desired and actual social connections [3,5,6]. As such, the quality of close relationships, rather than the number of social contacts, is more significant in alleviating loneliness [7].

The literature has shown that loneliness can affect physiological resilience and compromise health, leading to health problems as people age (Segrin and Passalacqua [8]). For example, Teater et al [9] found various social and emotional factors associated with increased risks of loneliness, including living alone, being single or never married, having little technological communication, having low-quality interactions, having little social support, being socially isolated, and having poor subjective physical health. To reduce loneliness, in a longitudinal study conducted in Sweden, Dahlberg et al [6] argued that social relationships that have been established for at least 20 years are particularly important, such as having a spouse or partner and access to social support. A study by Heylen [10] confirms the quality of social relationship with age.

In Singapore, loneliness has been associated with increased mortality risk [11]. According to Malhotra et al [12], the lives of older adults who are lonely are likely to be 3-5 years shorter than those of their nonlonely peers. As a result, interventions that help older adults establish close relationships and find social support are essential in maintaining their well-being.

Companionship is defined as “social involvement in shared activities, recreational or nonrecreational, which is pursued for the intrinsic goal of satisfaction or enjoyment” [13]. It indicates a high level of relationship quality and shields people from the emotions of void and despondency resulting from loneliness, although it does not directly resolve loneliness [13,14]. Although both social support and companionship are fundamentally beneficial to older adults’ well-being, companionship is more important for preserving their emotional well-being [13].

According to Dong and Chen [15], older women living alone are more likely than older men to report a lack of companionship as a symptom of loneliness, as they may lack effective coping mechanisms. As such, sociocultural activities, volunteer work, and community health promotion initiatives should be launched to help women develop effective coping mechanisms. Furthermore, Ramesh et al [16] suggested that sociocultural changes are needed to recognize the value of companionship in old age, encourage appropriate companionship, and focus on assistance with basic daily tasks.

In their study on the impact of peer companionship, Conwell et al [17] reported that older adults who received a social intervention (peer companionship) experienced fewer symptoms of anxiety, depression, and feelings of being a burden than those who did not receive the intervention. Furthermore, peer companionship and social connectedness were beneficial for older adults’ mental health and well-being.

Companionship comes not only from humans but can also come from pets or other compassionate agents such as robots (eg, socially assistive robots, companion robots, and therapeutic robots).

The popularity of social robots has attracted much attention from care providers, especially during the recent COVID-19 pandemic. According to Hegel et al [26], social robots are specifically designed to facilitate human-robot interaction. With recent advances in machine learning applications and robotics, several companies are developing advanced consumer robots with smart sensorimotor systems [34]. Although PARO has been widely used in dementia care research and has received many positive reviews, the robot seal lacks social and auditory capabilities [35]. In contrast, a new mobile social robot called LOVOT (Love+Robot) launched in 2018, invented in Japan, was designed to provide humans with love or the perception of love [36]. LOVOT was designed as a home robot, also known as a companion robot or a social robot, and is equipped with AI and advanced sensor features. As such, LOVOT evolves over time based on its interactions with its user, thanks to its machine learning technology (eg, deep learning), which allows it to develop a unique personality and perform intelligent movements in real time [37]. As LOVOT is relatively new to the field of social robots, it has yet to be tested among single older adults in Singapore. Therefore, our research fills this gap in the literature. Figure 1 shows a photo of LOVOT in our study.

The purpose of this study was to investigate single older adults’ perceptions of having a social robot as a companion. This research addressed the knowledge gap regarding the experiences of community-dwelling single older adults with social robots in Singapore. To this end, we used phenomenography as a qualitative analysis technique to explore and better understand single older adults’ perceptions of social robots.

Given the aforementioned context, our study addressed some research questions. First, can social robots such as LOVOT act as effective companions and alleviate feelings of loneliness among community-dwelling single older adults? Second, what are single older adults’ lived experiences and interactions with LOVOT? Third, how do single older adults perceive their experience of living and interacting with LOVOT compared with pet ownership?

To answer these questions, our research focused on (1) examining the social well-being of single older adults through the companionship of social robots and (2) understanding the perceptions of single older adults when interacting with social robots. Given the prevalence of technology use to support aging, understanding single older adults’ social well-being and their perceptions of social robots is essential to guide future research on and design of social robots.

We used a phenomenological research design to understand our participants’ lived experiences of the companionship provided by social robots. Phenomenography allows researchers to seek ontological understandings and learn about the phenomenality of human experiences [30]. Furthermore, as Hajar [38] explained, phenomenography is a qualitative research methodology that provides researchers with a deep, comprehensive, and diverse understanding of how people conceptualize a phenomenon.

We recruited a purposive sample of single adults aged 65 years and older through collaboration with the Orange Valley Senior Activity Centre in Singapore. It is located within a cluster of studio apartments that caters mainly to older persons who are staying alone and are aged ≥60 years. Participants were eligible to participate in the study if they lived alone, were able to communicate in English or Mandarin, and were free of any cognitive or mental health problems (eg, dementia or depression). Those who lived in nursing home facilities, had been diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment, or were unable to consent to participate in the study were excluded. The selected participants received written information about the project and signed a consent form before the start of the study. They were informed that their participation was voluntary and that they could withdraw from the study at any time without negative consequences.

To establish the context of the sample for community-dwelling older adults aged ≥65 years, we collected descriptive data between July and October 2022. A total of 5 women participants were invited to participate in the study; 1 was unmarried, 2 were widowed, and 2 were divorced or separated. They all lived alone in a 1- or 2-bedroom Housing Development Board flat above the Orange Valley Senior Activity Centre.

One of the researchers brought a LOVOT robot to the participants’ homes and helped them set up the robot’s charging nest.

She then used an instruction sheet in English or Chinese to instruct the participants on how to operate LOVOT. The instruction sheets used large font and color images to ensure that the participants would be able to read and understand the instructions easily. The researcher’s contact information and the activity center’s senior personnel’s contact number were provided in case the participants encountered any problems during the 7-day study; however, none of the participants contacted the researcher or personnel at the senior activity center. During the deployment of the social robot, only LOVOT and its charging nest were provided, and no permanent modifications were made to the participants’ homes. Although the 7-day study was conducted in an uncontrolled environment, this allowed the participants to interact with LOVOT as naturally as possible. The duration of the study allowed sufficient time for the participants to interact with LOVOT.

After spending a week with the social robot, the participants were invited to participate in a poststudy interview on the eighth day. The one-to-one interviews lasted between 15 and 25 minutes and were conducted at the Orange Valley Senior Activity Centre.

The data were collected in different time periods between August and September 2022. The research team had 3 LOVOT robots to rotate among the 5 participants, taking into account participant availability. All of the participants were pleasantly receptive to the idea of having LOVOT in their homes for the study. The 7-day study was designed to ensure that their first time interacting with the social robot was comfortable and would not unduly disrupt their lifestyle.

The participants’ perceptions of their interactions with LOVOT during the 7-day study were investigated using semistructured interviews to collect qualitative data. During the interviews, the participants were encouraged to share their experiences with and observations of LOVOT, and follow-up questions were asked as needed.

Ethical approval for the study was obtained from the Human Research Ethics Committee of the University of Hong Kong (HKU HREC EA220116). To protect the privacy of the participants, the camera function of LOVOT was disabled during the study and no other participant information was recorded by the robot. The participants have signed an informed consent form for joining the study with the option to withdraw at any point. Each participant will receive a SGD 20 (US $15.2) National Trade Union Congress voucher as a token of appreciation for joining the study.

All of the participant interviews were audio recorded, transcribed, and thoroughly reviewed for relevant content and thematic patterns. We analyzed the data using a phenomenological approach, with the goal of investigating and understanding how the participants interacted with LOVOT (the phenomenon) while suspending our preconceived assumptions about the phenomenon.

We analyzed the data using inductive coding to identify common patterns and then categorized them into different themes. We reviewed the interviews several times during the analysis to confirm the findings and establish reliability. We also reviewed the data to define each theme. Finally, we examined the findings objectively to identify relevant information to answer the research questions.

Arriving at truthful interpretations of participants’ experiences regarding a given phenomenon requires the use of rigorous and relevant methodological procedures [38]. Thus, the qualitative data we collected during our study were cross-checked by another member of the research team to ensure accuracy.

Using a phenomenological approach, we aimed to respect reflexivity while conducting this study. To do this, we analyzed the information we obtained and the insights we gained, while trying to generalize the phenomenon and being reflective and self-critical about our own assumptions and preconceptions. Specifically, we momentarily put aside our implicit presumptions about the phenomenon to approach it objectively and avoid misrepresenting or expressing biases based on our own viewpoints or positionalities [28]. Finally, we scrupulously respected the confidentiality of the participants’ data and guaranteed their privacy and anonymity.

This study explored single older adults’ experiences with and perceptions of LOVOT and how they were affected by their interactions with the social robot. We analyzed the findings thematically using the 4 emerging themes discussed further in this section. It was difficult to recruit older men as participants for this study because the participants came from the Orange Valley Senior Activity Centre, a place frequented primarily by women. As a result, the gender of our participants was skewed toward women participants. The 5 women participants are identified as C1, C3, C5, V2, and Y1. Their basic information is presented in Table 1.

We categorized the participants’ perceptions of social robots into 4 main themes, such as caring for the social robot, finding companionship with the social robot, forming meaningful connections with the social robot, and comparing the social robot with pets. These themes are illustrated in Figure 2.

We identified 4 main themes after interviewing the 5 participants about their interactions and experiences with LOVOT.

This study used phenomenography as a qualitative analysis technique to fill the knowledge gap regarding the experience of community-dwelling single older adults with social robots. Specifically, we used phenomenography to examine how single older adults’ social well-being is affected by the companionship of social robots. Furthermore, given the ability of technology to support aging, we examined the participants’ perceived usefulness and relevance of the companionship provided by LOVOT through their interactions with it. So far, most studies on this subject have been conducted in older adult care facilities [39]. Thus, this study attempts to explore single older adults’ perceptions of social robots within their own home environment. Overall, our results showed that LOVOT brings positive experiences that can be categorized into 4 themes.

We acknowledge that our study has some limitations. One key limitation is the gender distribution of the small sample size, and all of our participants were women. In addition, our sample consisted only of single older adults living in the community rather than in an older adult care facility. Therefore, the findings cannot be generalized to non–community-dwelling populations. Our findings indicate that single older adults derived psychosocial benefits from LOVOT’s companionship. However, to better understand adults’ social well-being and how LOVOT may benefit older adults who do not live alone, future research could investigate LOVOT’s impact on older couples who live separately from their families or on older people who live with their children. This is particularly feasible in Singapore, where multigenerational households, regardless of age group, show great interest in robotic technology [45]. Furthermore, future research could study older adults who own pets to determine whether they benefit from interacting with a robotic social companion. In addition, as the participants’ interactions with LOVOT were observed in the familiar environment of their homes, social robots, with their limited functionality, may not be able to meet the needs of more active individuals [46]. Nevertheless, companion robots in general may have a greater impact on reducing loneliness and improving the quality of life of older adults. Finally, the deployed LOVOT robot was not connected to its smartphone app (developed by LOVOT developer, Groove X), which can record videos of participants making eye contact, hugging, or carrying the robot. As a result, we relied solely on the participants’ recollections and accounts of their interactions with LOVOT. Future studies could use LOVOT’s recording function by connecting the robot to a secure network and ensuring that participants’ privacy is protected. By reviewing the videos from the smartphone app, researchers will have more accurate data on the interaction patterns between the participants and LOVOT.

This study examined how single older adults are affected by the companionship of a social robot and explored their perceptions when interacting with the social robot. This study can spur more interest in investigating further how healthy older adults’ perceptions of social robots can benefit more with its social presence as a partner in their homes.

Social loneliness and isolation are imminent challenges of an aging society. The findings from this study are consistent with the literature suggesting that social robots can be a source of companionship for older adults living alone [47]. Specifically, the participants were able to care for LOVOT, feel comfortable, and form connections with it. It is likely for older adults to have a better quality of life and well-being. Many participants also preferred the social robot over traditional social companions such as pets which require more attention and responsibilities. In addition, thanks to its built-in AI, LOVOT was able to adapt its behavior based on its owner’s responses. Finally, its endearing physical features, such as its large, animated eyes and warm, cuddly design, encouraged its acceptance by older adults.