Do Looks Matter? Exploring Functional and Aesthetic Design Preferences for a Robotic Guide Dog

Fuente: arXiv
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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Cohav, Aviv L., Gong, A. Xinran, Kim, J. Taery, Zeagler, Clint, Ha, Sehoon, Walker, Bruce N.
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Cohav, Aviv L.
Gong, A. Xinran
Kim, J. Taery
Zeagler, Clint
Ha, Sehoon
Walker, Bruce N.
author_facet Cohav, Aviv L.
Gong, A. Xinran
Kim, J. Taery
Zeagler, Clint
Ha, Sehoon
Walker, Bruce N.
contents Dog guides offer an effective mobility solution for blind or visually impaired (BVI) individuals, but conventional dog guides have limitations including the need for care, potential distractions, societal prejudice, high costs, and limited availability. To address these challenges, we seek to develop a robot dog guide capable of performing the tasks of a conventional dog guide, enhanced with additional features. In this work, we focus on design research to identify functional and aesthetic design concepts to implement into a quadrupedal robot. The aesthetic design remains relevant even for BVI users due to their sensitivity toward societal perceptions and the need for smooth integration into society. We collected data through interviews and surveys to answer specific design questions pertaining to the appearance, texture, features, and method of controlling and communicating with the robot. Our study identified essential and preferred features for a future robot dog guide, which are supported by relevant statistics aligning with each suggestion. These findings will inform the future development of user-centered designs to effectively meet the needs of BVI individuals.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2503_16450
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Do Looks Matter? Exploring Functional and Aesthetic Design Preferences for a Robotic Guide Dog
Cohav, Aviv L.
Gong, A. Xinran
Kim, J. Taery
Zeagler, Clint
Ha, Sehoon
Walker, Bruce N.
Human-Computer Interaction
Robotics
Dog guides offer an effective mobility solution for blind or visually impaired (BVI) individuals, but conventional dog guides have limitations including the need for care, potential distractions, societal prejudice, high costs, and limited availability. To address these challenges, we seek to develop a robot dog guide capable of performing the tasks of a conventional dog guide, enhanced with additional features. In this work, we focus on design research to identify functional and aesthetic design concepts to implement into a quadrupedal robot. The aesthetic design remains relevant even for BVI users due to their sensitivity toward societal perceptions and the need for smooth integration into society. We collected data through interviews and surveys to answer specific design questions pertaining to the appearance, texture, features, and method of controlling and communicating with the robot. Our study identified essential and preferred features for a future robot dog guide, which are supported by relevant statistics aligning with each suggestion. These findings will inform the future development of user-centered designs to effectively meet the needs of BVI individuals.
title Do Looks Matter? Exploring Functional and Aesthetic Design Preferences for a Robotic Guide Dog
topic Human-Computer Interaction
Robotics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2503.16450