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Robots that Evolve with Us: Modular Co-Design for Personalization, Adaptability, and Sustainability

Lingyun Chen, Qing Xiao, Zitao Zhang, Eli Blevis, Selma Šabanović

TL;DR

This study tackles the challenge of keeping robots useful and meaningful across the human lifespan by proposing the Personalization, Adaptability, and Sustainability (PAS) framework and grounding it in two co-design workshops using a modular robot design probe. It demonstrates that modularity supports three interrelated properties—personalization (embedding individual values across life stages), adaptability (evolving function and form over time), and sustainability (material repair and emotional continuity)—which together foster durable, emotionally resonant human–robot relationships. By empirically grounding PAS and contrasting it with the SAM framework, the work provides design principles for open, lifespan-centered modular platforms that encourage co-creation, long-term use, and ecological responsibility. The findings suggest practical pathways for developing robots that grow with people, serving as lifelong companions and heirlooms rather than disposable devices, with significant implications for sustainable, human-centered HCI/HRI practice.

Abstract

Many current robot designs prioritize efficiency and one-size-fits-all solutions, oftentimes overlooking personalization, adaptability, and sustainability. To explore alternatives, we conducted two co-design workshops with 23 participants, who engaged with a modular robot co-design framework. Using components we provided as building blocks, participants combined, removed, and invented modules to envision how modular robots could accompany them from childhood through adulthood and into older adulthood. The participants' designs illustrate how modularity (a) enables personalization through open-ended configuration, (b) adaptability across shifting life-stage needs, and (c) sustainability through repair, reuse, and continuity. We therefore derive design principles that establish modularity as a foundation for lifespan-oriented human-robot interaction. This work reframes modular robotics as a flexible and expressive co-design approach, supporting robots that evolve with people, rather than static products optimized for single moments or contexts of use.

Robots that Evolve with Us: Modular Co-Design for Personalization, Adaptability, and Sustainability

TL;DR

This study tackles the challenge of keeping robots useful and meaningful across the human lifespan by proposing the Personalization, Adaptability, and Sustainability (PAS) framework and grounding it in two co-design workshops using a modular robot design probe. It demonstrates that modularity supports three interrelated properties—personalization (embedding individual values across life stages), adaptability (evolving function and form over time), and sustainability (material repair and emotional continuity)—which together foster durable, emotionally resonant human–robot relationships. By empirically grounding PAS and contrasting it with the SAM framework, the work provides design principles for open, lifespan-centered modular platforms that encourage co-creation, long-term use, and ecological responsibility. The findings suggest practical pathways for developing robots that grow with people, serving as lifelong companions and heirlooms rather than disposable devices, with significant implications for sustainable, human-centered HCI/HRI practice.

Abstract

Many current robot designs prioritize efficiency and one-size-fits-all solutions, oftentimes overlooking personalization, adaptability, and sustainability. To explore alternatives, we conducted two co-design workshops with 23 participants, who engaged with a modular robot co-design framework. Using components we provided as building blocks, participants combined, removed, and invented modules to envision how modular robots could accompany them from childhood through adulthood and into older adulthood. The participants' designs illustrate how modularity (a) enables personalization through open-ended configuration, (b) adaptability across shifting life-stage needs, and (c) sustainability through repair, reuse, and continuity. We therefore derive design principles that establish modularity as a foundation for lifespan-oriented human-robot interaction. This work reframes modular robotics as a flexible and expressive co-design approach, supporting robots that evolve with people, rather than static products optimized for single moments or contexts of use.

Paper Structure

This paper contains 26 sections, 15 figures, 5 tables.

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. Related Work
  3. Sustainable HRI and Modular Robots
  4. Robots Across the Lifespan
  5. Methods: Co-Design Workshop about Modular Robots Across Lifespan
  6. Participants
  7. Workshop Set-up
  8. Data Collection and Analysis
  9. Ethics
  10. Findings
  11. Personalization through Modular Design
  12. Personalization for Distinct Life-Stage Demands
  13. Choice and Reconfiguration
  14. Customization Beyond Provided Parts
  15. Adaptability through Modular Design
  16. ...and 11 more sections

Figures (15)

  • Figure 1: Modular Head (H)
  • Figure 2: Modular Arm (A)
  • Figure 3: Modular Upper Body (UB)
  • Figure 4: Modular Lower Body (LB)
  • Figure 5: Workshop 1 with 15 younger adults
  • ...and 10 more figures