Human Acceptance of the Cleaning Robot in Grocery Environments During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Cleaning work is a labor-intensive job that frequently exposes workers to substantial occupational hazards. Unfortunately, the outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has increased the pressure on janitors and cleaners to meet the rising need for a safe and hygienic environment, particularly in grocery stores, where the majority of people get their daily necessities. To reduce the occupational hazards and fulfill the new challenges of COVID-19, autonomous cleaning robots, have been designed to complement human workers. However, a lack of understanding of the new generation of cleaning tools’ acceptance may raise safety concerns when they’re deployed. Therefore, a video-based survey was developed and distributed to 32 participants, aiming to assess human acceptance of the cleaning robot in grocery environments during the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, the effects of four factors (gender, work experience, knowledge, and pet) that may influence human acceptance of the cleaning robot were also examined. In general, our findings revealed a non-negative human acceptance of the cleaning robot, which is a positive sign of deploying cleaning robots in grocery stores to reduce the workload of employees and decrease COIVID-related anxiety and safety concerns of customers. Furthermore, prior knowledge of robotics was observed to have a significant effect on participants’ acceptance of the cleaning robot (p = 0.039).