Designing Relational Care: Speculative and Participatory Approaches to Movement-Based Human-Robot Interaction through the Performing Arts

Abstract

Recent developments in health research increasingly frame health as relational and situated - emerging through interactions among bodies, environments, institutions, and technologies. Translating this into the design of robotic care technologies, particularly those involving movement-based Human-Robot Interaction (HRI), remains a challenge. This paper proposes a relational approach to the design of movement-based robotic systems for health and care contexts that integrates the knowledge and expertise of the performing arts, alongside care stakeholders. First, we describe our methodological approach for integrating the performing arts into relational HRI design for health applications, focusing on Fizzy (a minimalistic, robotic ball that supports health promotion and caregiving to older adults) as a design case. Drawing from two interdisciplinary studies, we analyse how Speculative Enactments (SE) and Participatory Design (PD) can inform the design of movement-based HRI from a relational standpoint. Second, we report on three design lessons learned during these studies: (1) take your lead from the materiality of the robotic platform, (2) frame encounters to steer the interpretation in specific ways, (3) attend to emergent movement patterns in situated interactions. Together, these methodological and design insights contribute to a relational approach for designing movement-based robotic technologies that support health and wellbeing through embodied, situated encounters.