| Summary: | Purpose Care robots can be defined as "robots that assist the daily lives of persons with disability and the older adults" (Moon, 2020). Social value aims for the sustainable development of a community and focuses on the public rather than the individual (Kwon 2019). The increase in the number of people with disabilities and the older adults, as well as the aging of people with disabilities, is progressing at the fastest pace among OECD countries. By 2030, the population of older adults, aged 65 years and above, is expected to be 25.0% of the number of older adults (Statistics Korea 2020). It can, hence, be predicted that the demand for care robots will continue to increase. Most previous studies on caring robots have focused on verifying the statistical effectiveness of a robot's function and performance. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the social value of care robots, including publicity value for the older adults and persons with disability, through qualitative research. Methods: To obtain relevant segments from a demand-side approaches, we focus on deriving the demand schedule for caring robots within the framework of cost-benefit analysis (CBA). On the basis of key stakeholders and their potential needs derived from the analysis, this study was conducted with five older adults and four persons with disabilities, from January 12 to 24, 2022. Face-to-face interviews were conducted by dividing the participants into the older adult group and the persons with disability group, and it took 60 to 90 min. The interview results were analyzed by dividing them into four social values: labor, health, innovative, and economic social value. Results and Discussion: The CBA framework allows us to investigate the demand dynamics for caring robots. In particular, during the process of the demand schedule estimates, including sensitivity analysis, we can specify each demand group(stakeholder)'s potential needs and constraints. The FGI results then predicted that in labor and health values, the time and intensity of labor would decrease, and the shame of care recipient generated during caring would also decrease. In addition, equality of labor would occur effectively. These were the positive results that were derived. In terms of innovative value, a lack of technology for care robots and concerns about the risk of accident in safety were still present. However, medical costs were expected to decrease in terms of economic value When comparing the two groups, the older adults valued reduced shame and efficacy of care, while the people with disabilities valued social communication to soothe loneliness. Care recipients had positive expectations in the four social aspects; therefore, it can be expected that the demand for care robots will be high in the future. Therefore, when developing and distributing care robots, it must be considered that the older adults value individual privacy, while people with disabilities value social communication to soothe loneliness. The results of this study can be used as elementary data for the future development and distribution of care robots.
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