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Abstract
With the maturity and development of digital technology, voice interaction has been widely used in different devices or scenarios. However, older adults have low satisfaction and acceptance levels when using voice interaction. To improve older adults’ user experience of voice interaction, the current study explored the effect of response time and feedback type on the user experience of voice interaction among older adults. A Xiaodu smart speaker was used as the experimental device, and the response time was recorded using artificial breakpoints. Our study consisted of two experiments that explored the voice wake-up and voice dialogue stages under different combinations of response time and feedback type and older adults rated their satisfaction, comfort, anthropomorphism, and perceived speed level. The results showed that: (1) the optimal wake-up response time for older adults is 250–1000 ms, and the optimal dialogue response time is 600–1500 ms. (2) As response time increases, older adults’ satisfaction, comfort, and anthropomorphism toward smart speakers decrease. In the wake-up stage, the scores in the time period >2000 ms is significantly lower than those shorter response times. In the dialogue stage, the scores in the time periods >3000 ms are significantly lower than those shorter response times. (3) In the wake-up stage, the voice-based prompt “Hello, I’m Xiaodu” scores highest among all kinds of feedback types. In the dialogue stage, the social-oriented feedback scores higher in satisfaction and comfort than task-oriented feedback. The results of the current study could provide implications for age-friendly voice interaction design.
Author contributions
Xiancai Cao: conceptualization, methodology, resources, writing -review and editing, supervision, project administration, and funding acquisition. Chenhong Cui: methodology, software, formal analysis, investigation, data curation, and writing – original draft preparation. Bolin Zhou: methodology, software, formal analysis, and writing – review and editing. Dahua Wang: conceptualization, writing – review and editing, and supervision. Xiantao Chen: conceptualization, resources, and supervision. Hongmiao Liu: investigation and data curation. Hao Zhang: resources and writing – review and editing. Xuejun Bai: conceptualization, writing – review and editing, and supervision.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Xiancai Cao
Xiancai Cao received his PhD in psychology at Beijing Normal University and has been a researcher since 2019 in the Faculty of Psychology at Tianjin Normal University, China. His current research interests include human–computer interaction and user experience research among older adults.
Chenhong Cui
Chenhong Cui started her master’s research in 2022 at Tianjin Normal University, China. Her current research interests include voice interaction and user experience research among older adults.
Bolin Zhou
Bolin Zhou received a bachelor’s degree in management from Tianjin Normal University in 2023, and his research interests include user experience and human–computer interaction.
Dahua Wang
Dahua Wang received her PhD in developmental psychology at Beijing Normal University and has been a professor in the Institute of Developmental Psychology at Beijing Normal University, China. Her current research interests include adult development and psychology of aging.
Xiantao Chen
Xiantao Chen received his PhD from Hunan University in China and he is currently a senior user experience researcher in Baidu AI User Experience Department. His research interests include human–computer interaction and user experience design.
Hongmiao Liu
Hongmiao Liu started her bachelor’s degree in 2022 at Tianjin Normal University, China. Her current research interests include psychology of older adults, user experience and human–computer interaction among older adults.
Hao Zhang
Hao Zhang began his master’s studies at Tianjin Normal University in China in 2021. Current research interests include mental health in older adults and user experience research in older adults.
Xuejun Bai
Xuejun Bai received his PhD at Beijing Normal University. He is a professor of the Key Research Base of Humanities and Social Sciences of the Ministry of Education, Academy of Psychology and Behavior, Tianjin Normal University, China. His current research interests include the cognitive mechanisms of reading and developmental psychology.