The Needfinding Machine

Abstract

Robotics and automation technologies have begun to extend ubiquitous computing to include interactive objects with physical and social agency. My thesis, the Needfinding Machine, explores using social robots as design tools for understanding people and creating rich adaptive user experiences. In essence, the Needfinding Machine enables a conversation between a designer and a person \textit{through} a social robot. This conversation can support designers during needfinding and enable future social robots to elicit meaningful information from users.