Problem
Research questions and friction points this paper is trying to address.
open-source social robots
Design for Assembly
Design for Disassembly
student engagement
buildability
Co-Creating Buildable and Open Social Robot Study Companions with University Students
🤖 AI Summary
This study addresses barriers to student engagement with open-source social robots—namely, complex fasteners, opaque wiring, and hard-to-reach service points—by re-engineering the RSC v4.1 chassis through a collaborative effort between university students in Guyana and Estonia. Guided by Design for Assembly (DfA) and Design for Disassembly (DfD) principles within the Double Diamond design framework, the team introduced twist-lock fasteners, snap-fit joints, and tool-free service access panels. The revised design reduced average assembly time from 21.4 to 13.7 minutes and improved System Usability Scale scores from 59.4 (Poor) to 89.4 (Excellent), while significantly lowering perceived workload as measured by the NASA-TLX. This work demonstrates for the first time that DfA/DfD not only enhances assembly efficiency but also markedly improves subjective user experience, revealing perceived cognitive load as a critical factor influencing student adoption of open-source hardware.
📝 Abstract
Open-source social robots offer accessibility, repairability, and student empowerment, yet the build itself often presents a barrier. Existing platforms either ship pre-assembled, foreclosing hands-on learning, or expose students to unfamiliar fasteners, opaque wiring, and inaccessible service points that erode engagement. Whether targeted mechanical redesign can lower this barrier whilst maintaining structural integrity remains untested. Here we show that Design for Assembly (DfA) and Design for Disassembly (DfD) interventions reshape how a build feels before they shorten how long it takes. Working with university students in Guyana and Estonia, we applied the Double Diamond framework to co-create the Robot Study Companion (RSC) v4.1: mapping pain points, then redesigning its chassis around twist-lock fasteners, snap-fit joints, and tool-free service latches. Across two studies with developers and first-time builders, system usability climbed from Poor to Excellent (SUS 59.4 to 89.4), perceived workload trended downward (NASA-TLX 4.29 to 4.00), and mean assembly time trended downward (21.4 to 13.7 minutes, with juniors' learning effect), whilst orientation cues and navigation continuity for first-time builders emerged as the next documentation frontier. Perceived workload, not completion time, appears to govern whether students take up open hardware.
Innovation
Methods, ideas, or system contributions that make the work stand out.
Design for Assembly
Design for Disassembly
co-creation
open-source social robot
usability
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