Experience Centred Design for a Robotic Eating Aid

We discuss how an experience centred approach to robotic design might lead to new design spaces and products that are more engaging and better meet users' needs and lifestyles. To support the statement, we present preliminary data from a long-term user study on an eating aid robot

Beyond Speculative Ethics in HRI? Ethical Considerations and the Relation to Empirical Data

We discuss the difference between understanding robot ethics as something that is grounded in philosophical ideas about a potential future design, and understanding robot ethics as something that is grounded in empirical data. We argue, that understanding “robots” as a relatively homogenous group of designs for which we can formulate general ethics may lead to a foresight of future robot designs that includes ideas and concerns that are not feasible or realistic. Our aim is to exemplify a complementing perspective, by shedding light on two different robotic designs. We discuss their relation to specific use practices and user experiences, and provide some early ethical reflections and design concerns

How do you Play with a Robotic Toy Animal? A long-term study of Pleo

Pleo is one of the more advanced interactive toys currently available for the home market, taking the form of a robotic dinosaur. We present an exploratory study of how it was interacted with and reflected upon in the homes of six families during 2 to 10 months. Our analysis emphasizes a discrepancy between the participants’ initial desires to borrow a Pleo and what they reported later on about their actual experiences. Further, the data suggests an apparent tension between participants expecting the robot to work as a ‘toy’ while making consistent comparisons with real pet animals. We end by discussing a series of implications for design of this category of toys, in order to better maintain interest and engagement over time

Workplace health promotion and employee health in municipal social care organizations

Background: People working in social care constitute the largest occupational group in Sweden and they have the highest prevalence of sickness absence. Since sickness absence results in great human and societal costs, there is incentive to develop initiatives to promote health for this group. Previous research about both what measures are effective and how soon effects occur are limited and more knowledge about this is needed. Aim: The overall aim of the thesis was to gain more knowledge about associations between workplace health promotion and employee health, sickness absence, and sickness presence in municipal social care organizations. Method: Four studies were conducted concerning social care organizations and their employees in 60 Swedish municipalities, based on data from registers as well as from surveys to employees, top managers, and policy makers, respectively. A randomized sample of 60 of the 290 municipalities in Sweden and a randomized sample of 15,871 people employed at least half time throughout 2006 within the social care sector in these 60 municipalities was used. A questionnaire was sent to the employees selected (9270) and 58% replied (study I-IV). Another questionnaire was sent to top managers who represented the employer in the same 60 municipalities (n=60) (study II). A third questionnaire was sent to policymakers in the 60 municipalities (study III). Register data was obtained on sickness absence (>14 days) in 2006 for the 9270 employees and on long-term sickness absence (>90 days) in 2007–2012 for all social service workers in the 60 municipalities. Both cross-sectional (study I–II and IV) and prospective (study III) study designs were used, using individual level data (study IV) and organizational level data (study I-III). Descriptive statistics, bivariate and multiple linear and logistic regression analyses, and structural equation modelling analyses were performed. Results: Organizations that had more favorable employee ratings of individual- and organizational-directed (psychosocial work conditions) workplace health promotion measures had better health and lower sickness absence levels among their employees (study I). Organizational- and individual-directed workplace health promotion measures and employee satisfaction with workplace health promotion measures were associated with better employee health (study II). There was an association between provision of organizational-directed workplace health promotion measures (prevention program) and future lower levels of long-term sickness absence (study III). There were associations present between the use of health profile assessment and fitness activities and a lower odds ratio of being sickness present (study IV). Conclusions: There were low or moderate associations between provision/use of workplace health promotion for individual and/or organizational approaches and lower levels of poor self-rated health, lower future incidence of long-term sickness absence, and lower odds ratio for sickness presence

Transfer Scenarios: Grounding Innovation with Marginal Practices

Transfer scenarios is a method developed to support the design of innovative interactive technology. Such a method should help the designer to come up with inventive ideas, and at the same time provide grounding in real human needs. In transfer scenarios, we use marginal practices to encourage a changed mindset throughout the design process. A marginal practice consists of individuals who share an activity that they find meaningful. We regard these individuals not as end-users, but as valuable input in the design process. We applied this method when designing novel applications for autonomous embodied agents, e.g. robots. Owners of unusual pets, such as snakes and spiders, were interviewed - not with the intention to design robot pets, but to determine underlying needs and interests of their practice. The results were then used to design a set of applications for more general users, including a dynamic living-room wall and a set of communicating hobby robots

A complementing approach for identifying ethical issues in care robotics – grounding ethics in practical use

We use a long-term study of a robotic eating-aid for disabled users to illustrate how empirical use give rise to a set of ethical issues that might be overlooked in ethic discussions based on theoretical extrapolation of the current state-of-the-art in robotics. This approach provides an important complement to the existing robot ethics by revealing new issues as well as providing actionable guidance for current and future robot design. We discuss our material in relation to the literature on robot ethics, specifically the risk of robots performing care taking tasks and thus causing increased isolation for care recipients. Our data identifies a different set of ethical issues such as independence, privacy, and identity where robotics, if carefully designed and developed, can make positive contributions

GlowBots: Robots that Evolve Relationships

GlowBots are small wheeled robots that develop complex relationships between each other and with their owner. They develop attractive patterns which are affected both by user interaction and communication between the robots. The project shows how robots can interact with humans in subtle and sustainable ways for entertainment and enjoyment

Hospital robot at work: something alien or an intelligent colleague?

LIRE

Designing novel applications for emerging multimedia technology

Current R&D in media technologies such as Multimedia, Semantic Web and Sensor Web technologies are advancing in a fierce rate and will sure to become part of our important regular items in a 'conventional' technology inventory in near future. While the R&D nature of these technologies means their accuracy, reliability and robustness are not sufficient enough to be used in real world yet, we want to envision now the near-future where these technologies will have matured and used in real applications in order to explore and start shaping many possible new ways these novel technologies could be utilised. In this talk, some of this effort in designing novel applications that incorporate various media technologies as their backend will be presented. Examples include novel scenarios of LifeLogging application that incorporate automatic structuring of millions of photos passively captured from a SenseCam (wearable digital camera that automatically takes photos triggered by environmental sensors) and an interactive TV application incorporating a number of multimedia tools yet extremely simple and easy to use with a remote control in a lean-back position. The talk will conclude with remarks on how the design of novel applications that have no precedence or existing user base should require somewhat different approach from those suggested and practiced in conventional usability engineering methodology