Bridging the Gap: Using a Game-based Approach to Raise Lay People's Awareness About Care Robots

Abstract

As people's expectations regarding robots are still mostly shaped by the media and Science Fiction, there exists a gap between imaginaries of robots and the state-of-the-art of robotic technologies. Care robots are one example of existing robots that the general public has little awareness about. In this report, we introduce a card-based game prototype developed with the goal to bridge this gap and explore how people conceive of existing care robots as a part of their daily lives. Based on the trial game runs, we conclude that game-based approach is effective as a device to inform participants in a playful setting about existing care robots and to elicit conversations about the role such robots could play in their lives. In the future, we plan to adapt the prototype and create a design game prototype to develop novel use cases for care robots.