April 8, 2018
Teens Showcase Their Amazing Designs at the Social Robot Design Challenge Showcase
To say we were blown away by the prototypes that high schoolers brought to the showcase is an understatement. The showcase was a HUGE success as were the teens’ creative and inspiring ideas. After spending the past two months exploring the human centered design process, high school students from seven schools made their way to UW Seattle to showcase their final prototypes! When the students arrived, they were greeted by a panel of robots including Blossom, Jibo, and EMAR.
The teens arrived and began setting up their prototypes, and then presented to the judges.
There were 2 whiteboards so teens could record what causes stress and what relieves stress for them.
Student presentations and awards
One team of students from each of the high schools presented their prototypes to the judges at the showcase. After interacting with the judges and presenting videos on their designs to the audience, each team received an award for their prototype.
Ballard High School
Girls Who Code club members represented Ballard High School at the showcase with their prototype, Lucy. A small, fluffy “dog” on wheels, Lucy is designed to relieve stress by listening. To show that she’s listening, Lucy responds by barking, wagging her tail, and moving her ears. Students at Ballard received the “Most Insightful” award for their prototype.
Henry Foss IB World School
Students from Foss High School debuted their social robot, Boom Boom, at the showcase. Boom Boom speaks to stressed teens in a voice that sounds like Speedy Gonzales, having therapeutic conversations to help reduce stress. Boom Boom also has the ability to dispense candy and beverages to students to brighten their day. The students from Foss were awarded “Most Versatile” for their prototype.
Oakland High School
Students from Oakland High School showcased two unique robot prototypes at the design challenge: Petunia and ESPAR. Petunia captured the audience’s attention with her cute boxy design. Petunia intends to relieve teen stress by supporting students’ academic success with her resourceful and helpful demeanor. Petunia was awarded “Most Helpful” by the judges at the showcase.
ESPAR (Emotional Support Play and Recreation) is a helpful robot who can help students by grabbing, fetching, and carrying items for students. ESPAR aims to reduce teen stress by giving emotional and motivational support to students in need. ESPAR was awarded “Most Robust” by the judges at the showcase.
Nathan Hale High School
Students from Nathan Hale invited guests into their social robot relaxation room. The relaxation room features a comfy bean bag chair for stressed teens to lay on while they listen to music to destress. The team recognized that each student has different needs to help them relieve stress, so a voice user interface allows each user to customize their experience. The team from Nathan Hale received the “Most Out of the Box” award for their design.
Roosevelt High School
The Girls in Tech team from Roosevelt High School showcased Joaquin Bartholomew III: a social robot with a removable fuzzy exterior perfect for hugging. Joaquin Bartholomew III is able to play music and speak to students in different accents, in addition to offering soothing essential oil fragrance options to help stressed teens relax. The Girls in Tech team were awarded the “Most Friendly”” from the judges at the showcase for their prototype.
Science and Math Institute (SAMI)
Students at SAMI presented CARL Bot: The Comfort and Relaxation Laugh Bot. CARL Bot speaks to users in different tones of voice, quoting Morgan Freeman and a “whacky YouTuber” to help reduce stress. CARL Bot can be found rolling around on caster wheels while playing calming acoustic guitar music when not interacting with teens. CARL Bot was awarded “Most Adaptable” at the showcase.
The judges
We invited local industry experts to be our judges and provide feedback for each of the high school teams. The judges were so attentive to the teams as they described their projects and their process.The judges then awarded each team with a unique award specific to their prototype and contribution to the design challenge.
Here the judges are meeting to discuss the awards, from left to right: Sures Kumar from the Machine and Intelligence Team at Google Research, Guy Hoffman (via telepresence) from the Aerospace and Engineering Department at Cornell University. Maya Cakmak, from the Human Centered Robotics Lab at the University of Washington, Sean Andrist from the Perception and Interaction Group at Microsoft Research and Eva Hoerth, from the Women in XR Fund.
Moving forward – Funding for Social Robot Build-a-Thons
The design challenge was such a success that many students are continuing to work on their prototypes. And, students and schools asked when we will be doing this again. The Project EMAR team quickly put together a supplemental proposal to the NSF INCLUDES program to conduct a more compact and easier to participate version of the design challenge in the form of a build-a-thon. The one-day, build-a-thon model would allow more students and more schools to get involved in this fun event. Our requests for funds will be submitted soon, so keep your fingers crossed!
Almost as eventful as the showcase itself, we finally got a photo of TEAM EMAR!!
We are so grateful for the hard work of our team in making the Social Robot Design Challenge a big success!
Back Row: Alanté Fields, Nicole Alvarez, Christina Nelson, Maya Cakmak, Alex Merk, Wesley Muthemba, Joseph Yoon
Middle Row: Chelsea Galvez, Kartika Rathee, Rachel Ren, Ada Kim, Elin Björling, Sara Tieu, Leah Rusienor, Audrey Wu, Emma Rose
Seated: Fadumo Abdirahman, Alisa Kalegina
