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Ethically-Aware Participatory Design of a Productivity Social Robot for College Students

Himanshi Lalwani, Hanan Salam

TL;DR

This paper tackles productivity challenges faced by college students, especially those with ADHD, by applying participatory design to create ethically aware Socially Assistive Robots (SARs). It combines student interviews with a Student Success and Well-Being Coach and a collaborative workshop to elicit design preferences, robot prototypes, and ethical guidelines. The findings reveal concrete design directions—portable, screen-enabled robots with proactive or reactive behaviors, task-management capabilities, and privacy safeguards—alongside a robust ethics-by-design framework. Limitations include a single-institution sample, but the work provides actionable guidance for deploying productivity-focused SARs in higher education and underscores the importance of stakeholder-informed, ethical robot design.

Abstract

College students often face academic and life stressors affecting productivity, especially students with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) who experience executive functioning challenges. Conventional productivity tools typically demand sustained self-discipline and consistent use, which many students struggle with, leading to disruptive app-switching behaviors. Socially Assistive Robots (SARs), known for their intuitive and interactive nature, offer promising potential to support productivity in academic environments, having been successfully utilized in domains like education, cognitive development, and mental health. To leverage SARs effectively in addressing student productivity, this study employed a Participatory Design (PD) approach, directly involving college students and a Student Success and Well-Being Coach in the design process. Through interviews and a collaborative workshop, we gathered detailed insights on productivity challenges and identified desirable features for a productivity-focused SAR. Importantly, ethical considerations were integrated from the onset, facilitating responsible and user-aligned design choices. Our contributions include comprehensive insights into student productivity challenges, SAR design preferences, and actionable recommendations for effective robot characteristics. Additionally, we present stakeholder-derived ethical guidelines to inform responsible future implementations of productivity-focused SARs in higher education.

Ethically-Aware Participatory Design of a Productivity Social Robot for College Students

TL;DR

This paper tackles productivity challenges faced by college students, especially those with ADHD, by applying participatory design to create ethically aware Socially Assistive Robots (SARs). It combines student interviews with a Student Success and Well-Being Coach and a collaborative workshop to elicit design preferences, robot prototypes, and ethical guidelines. The findings reveal concrete design directions—portable, screen-enabled robots with proactive or reactive behaviors, task-management capabilities, and privacy safeguards—alongside a robust ethics-by-design framework. Limitations include a single-institution sample, but the work provides actionable guidance for deploying productivity-focused SARs in higher education and underscores the importance of stakeholder-informed, ethical robot design.

Abstract

College students often face academic and life stressors affecting productivity, especially students with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) who experience executive functioning challenges. Conventional productivity tools typically demand sustained self-discipline and consistent use, which many students struggle with, leading to disruptive app-switching behaviors. Socially Assistive Robots (SARs), known for their intuitive and interactive nature, offer promising potential to support productivity in academic environments, having been successfully utilized in domains like education, cognitive development, and mental health. To leverage SARs effectively in addressing student productivity, this study employed a Participatory Design (PD) approach, directly involving college students and a Student Success and Well-Being Coach in the design process. Through interviews and a collaborative workshop, we gathered detailed insights on productivity challenges and identified desirable features for a productivity-focused SAR. Importantly, ethical considerations were integrated from the onset, facilitating responsible and user-aligned design choices. Our contributions include comprehensive insights into student productivity challenges, SAR design preferences, and actionable recommendations for effective robot characteristics. Additionally, we present stakeholder-derived ethical guidelines to inform responsible future implementations of productivity-focused SARs in higher education.

Paper Structure

This paper contains 26 sections, 4 figures, 1 table.

Table of Contents

  1. INTRODUCTION
  2. RELATED WORK
  3. Socially Assistive Robots for College Students
  4. Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
  5. Ethics by Design
  6. METHODS
  7. Participants
  8. Undergraduate Students Interviews
  9. Student Success and Well-Being Coach Interview
  10. Group Workshop
  11. Data Analysis Method
  12. FINDINGS
  13. Quantitative Findings
  14. Qualitative Findings
  15. Common Productivity Related Challenges
  16. ...and 11 more sections

Figures (4)

  • Figure 1: (A) Distribution of participants based on ASRS scores. (B) Average scores across different STMS management categories.
  • Figure 2: Sample Storyboard shared with Participants.
  • Figure 3: Aggregate preference scores for the five robots; lower scores reflect higher overall preference.
  • Figure 4: Prototypes Created by Different Teams: (A) Bimo, (B) Max, (C) Roberto, (D) Bammy.