Daily Note: Robot Clothing and Its Functions

These notes are a summary of concepts presented in “What Robots Need From Clothing.”

Natalie Friedman, Kari Love, RAY LC, Jenny E Sabin, Guy Hoffman, and Wendy Ju. 2021. What Robots Need From Clothing. In Proceedings of the 2021 ACM Designing Interactive Systems Conference (DIS ’21). Association for Computing Machinery, New York, NY, USA, 1345–1355. https://doi.org/10.1145/3461778.3462045

  1. Introduction
    • Clothes enhance robot functionality across diverse contexts
    • Improve adaptability and expand application scenarios
  2. Key Functions of Robot Clothing
    • Flexibility and deployment
      • Enable better interaction and functionality in varied environments
    • Signaling function and context
      • Indicate robot purpose and roles to humans
  3. Principles of Robot Clothing Design
    • Avoid imitating human clothing
    • Focus on fulfilling robot-specific needs
    • Prioritize adaptability, protection, and clear communication
  4. Adaptation to Context
    • Interchangeability
      • Easily change coverings for different tasks or contexts
    • Task-specific clothing
      • Use coverings suited to specific functions or environments
    • Social context
      • Signal the robot’s social role and intended audience
  5. Protection
    • Durability
      • Shield robots in harsh or hazardous conditions
    • Thermal protection
      • Insulate against extreme temperatures to preserve components
    • Wire modesty
      • Cover wiring for aesthetic and safety reasons
    • Ease
      • Ensure clothing allows free robot movement and is easy to manage
  6. Signaling
    • Group identity
      • Use branding or uniformity to signal organizational affiliation
    • Individual identity
      • Distinguish robots within groups for uniqueness
    • Role identification
      • Use aesthetics to communicate the robot’s function
    • Affordances and action
      • Highlight potential robot actions and interactions
  7. Materials
    • Context adaptation
      • Flexible or hard materials based on functionality
      • Materials should allow ease of donning and doffing
    • Protection
      • Shield robots in dirty or dangerous environments
    • Role Signaling
      • Material choices can communicate robot roles
    • Action Signaling
      • Use dynamic materials to emphasize motion
  8. Form
    • Context adaptation
      • Alter robot silhouette for specific tasks or environments
      • Create approachable forms for social interaction
    • Role signaling
      • Use form to align with robot’s intended social or functional role
    • Identity signaling
      • Impart signals such as gender through design
  9. Color
    • Protection
      • Use color for safety and environmental considerations
    • Signaling
      • Influence perceptions and convey cultural or functional messages
  10. Cultural and Historical References
    • Signaling time
      • Clothing design signals era and context of deployment
    • Signaling culture
      • Align robot clothing with cultural group identities
  11. Style
    • Identity
      • Clothing reflects robot and designer’s identity
    • Individuality
      • Unique styles foster personal connection with robots
    • Functional personalization
      • Encourage tactile interaction and highlight motion or specific robot functions
  12. Social Implications
    • Interaction mediation
      • Soften or enhance physical contact through tactile materials
    • Biases and perceptions
      • Clothing can reinforce societal biases in gender, race, age, and class
    • Socioeconomic roles
      • Reflect cultural and economic signals through clothing design