Towards Participatory Design of Social Robots

Abstract

With an increase in research and development of social robotics and commercial robots entering the market, there is a need for design tools that enable non-experts to design, build and use customized social robots. Human Computer Interaction researchers have a rich evolving tool-set when it comes to user-centered design. To encourage the use of user-centered design techniques in early design iterations of social robots, we propose the use of Opsoro. We present a case study which exhibits participatory design sessions using a Do-It-Yourself platform to enable the creation of social robots with non-experts.