Mapping of Possible Pathways to Sustainable Design in Social Robotics

It’s imperative that all sectors adapt to global warming, including technology designers and researchers exploring social robotics in healthcare. However, sustainability is a complex concept, and its operationalization mechanisms are not easily defined. In this document, we share a collaborative team reflection of possible pathways to sustainable design of an AI-augmented, socially assistive robot prototype application. Our mapping suggests that empirical and conceptual studies, within the research and design team and with stakeholders, may address all three dimensions of sustainability - environmental, economic, and social - at a micro, meso, and macro level. The map of possible pathways is neither a complete collection nor a silver bullet to a fully sustainable technological solution. Nonetheless, we hope that it furthers the discussion regarding possible ways to include sustainability as a tool in the design box and to research sustainable design in social robotics.