Ethnographic study of robotic products in the home
This paper by Jodi Forlizzi (assistant professor at the HCI Institute and School of Design at Carnegie Mellon University) presents an ethnographic study of robotic products in the home.
The experience of floor cleaning was studied with six families. Each family was given a robotic vacuum or a stick vacuum that offered the same vacuuming functionality.
The robotic vacuum affected significant change in the families, while the stick vacuum did not. Families cleaned more often, more members of the family cleaned, and people made social attributions when using the robotic vacuum. In addition, the robotic vacuum affected generational difference in how elders as opposed to non-elders cleaned.
Design implications for social robotic products in the home and next steps for understanding their contexts of use are presented based on the findings of this study.
Download study (pdf, 2.1 mb, 10 pages)
