Accounting for diversity in robot design, testbeds, and safety standardization

Robots in medical care and rehabilitation are becoming increasingly prevalent. They promise to meet patients’ needs by personalizing physical and social interactions with users. However, tailoring robots to users is about more than just making the robot adjustable or personalized to the users’ tastes. It is also about ensuring design justice (i.e., a design theory that rethinks design processes, places marginalized groups at the center of the design process, and exploits collaborative, creative practices to overcome exclusion challenges) and understanding how inclusive robot design is to interact with the user in a natural, non-discriminatory way.