Game of Life With Your Companion Robot: Exploring the Sustainable Future for Long-Term Human-Robot Interaction

Reducing electronic waste is one of the key topics in Sustainable Interaction Design. However, research regarding the sustainable future of the long-term use of robots is limited. Our study employs a game-based workshop to investigate the factors influencing potential users' sustainability choices in long-term human-robot interactions. We developed a board game called "Game of Life with Your Companion Robot" to help participants situate themselves in the context of cohabiting with companion robots of their choice. Through five workshops with seventeen participants, we explore (a) the factors mentioned by participants that influence their sustainability choices in long-term human-robot interactions, and (b) the connections between how participants frame their companion robots and their sustainability choices. We use four sustainable criteria to evaluate participants' choices. Our findings show that different framings of robots can result in different sustainable outcomes.