Co-designing Robot Dogs with and for Neurodivergent Individuals: Opportunities and Challenges
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Xie, Derek
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Abstract
Autism ranks as among the most common neurodevelopmental disorders and impairs the socioemotional behaviors of those affected. Existing research has demonstrated that animals hold significant potential in impacting the socioemotional well-being of autistic individuals and their non-judgmental nature can offer comfort and support for ND individuals to be in control of their environment when animals obey their issued commands. However, much of this research has been focused in therapeutic and educational settings, leaving much room for exploration of how robot dogs can be utilized in the context of everyday interactions. With prior research demonstrating the great impacts animals can have on the lives of neurodivergent individuals and the lack of research of how these robot dogs can be integrated into their daily lives, we aim to investigate how robot dogs can be used in such a way. In addition, we also employ the use of co-design studies to integrate the feedback provided by neurodivergent individuals to ensure that the design model we envision is representative of the needs voiced by the target population.
Work in understanding these design preferences is limited. To explore more of what makes an effective design in addition to behaviors, we conduct several workshops over the course of several weeks and analyze the data. These workshops will expose neurodiverse students in Georgia Tech’s EXCEL program to two different types of robot dogs (see Figure 1), each capable of different actions, behaviors, and having different looks. Afterwards, students will participate in a participatory design process that will last over the course of 2-3 weeks. Students will split off into groups and based on their experience with the robot dogs, formulate use cases and brainstorm ideas for features and use cases they would personally like to see (see Table 1).
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Undergraduate Research Option Thesis