UX _Blog Post #3

 

Readings And Critiques

Designing Robots in the Wild: In situ Prototype
Evaluation for a Break Management Robot

Need of break management robot (named Dewey):
Obseervation of work environment, realize the significance of break management.
interviewed volunteer participants about their break-taking practices and found they varied widely, but dissatisfaction with the frequency of breaks was commonplace.

1: Context exploration
  Aims: Exploration of taking breaks in an office environment and initial design of a physical break reminder technology.
  Findings: Minimalist design preferred; users concerned about amount of effort involved in using technology; desire for small footprint and no noise.

2: Embodiment
 Aims: Comparison of physically embodied and virtual prototypes in respect to break-taking behaviors.
  Findings: Embodied prototype preferred and more efficient at reminding about breaks; users requested more interactivity and personalization.

3: Social interaction Examination of how
 Aims: social interactivity affects perception of the robot and effectiveness in break management.
 Findings: Social robots are described in more relational terms and more effective in motivating taking breaks; work style has significant effect on perceptions of robots.
== positive result

 I think the experiement is affected by the intention of the researchers and disinterested evidences are needed. There are too many variables and it is difficult to control them. Therefore I think if reseachers increased the number of participants, it would be more believable.
However I think getting an early feedback about the usability and make a difference in robotic design (form, function) is quite great and logical.