CARU’s Voice-controlled Emergency Call Feature: Trial- & Validation Requirements for the Acceptance Test in Switzerland

Background: The emergency call feature of CARU, a voice-assistant and smart sensor developed by CARU AG (Switzerland, Europe), is available on the market. The feature is innovative as it allows older people to call for help using their voice. There is, however, still little systematic research on the degree of acceptance of CARU’s emergency call feature and factors influencing this acceptance, particularly in assisted living environments.
Objectives: The aim of this paper is to lay out the trial and validation criteria for the test of the operative readiness and the acceptance of the emergency call feature in Switzerland (ACTEST). More specifically, it explains the study design for the field trial and the proposed criteria for evaluating the acceptance of CARU’s emergency call feature. This document also contains the proposed timeline for the field trial.
Methods: The target group for the ACTEST are residents of bonacasa, aged 60+ who already have experience with an emergency call system or are interested in using such a system. According to the proposal, the sample should consist of at least 20 trial participants and 5 members of staff (concierges) of bonacasa. Recruitment will be conducted by bonacasa, a training and roll-out concept will be provided by CARU AG. Vienna University of Economics
and Business (WU) is responsible for the trial design and data analyses. Quantitative data will be collected using functionality tests (test-scenarios) and online surveys. Two waves of online data collection will be conducted by bonacasa concierges using computer-aided standardized face-to-face interviews. Measures and influencing factors for acceptance will be derived from the UTAUT2 model. In addition, data from a qualitative interview with bonacasa’s 24/7 emergency call center will be collected by HSLU. The ACTEST will start in
September 2020 and will last for two months.