Designing the future together: a collaborative designerly approach to socially interactive robots with older adults as co-designers

Co-designing represents a dynamic power shift where an underrepresented community, like the older population, can impact the responsible innovation of technology and its relationship with future generations. As such, through co-design, we can challenge the current stereotypes, technological inequalities and exclusions often assigned to older adults. Our research proposed a mixed approach to holistically understand the habituation of imaginaries, specifically socially interactive robots, in the context of older adults through their ageing experience. Based on our research process, this paper aims to critically reflect on the challenges and opportunities of Participatory Design with older adults for the speculative design of socially interactive robots. We advocate opening the discussion that recognises the importance of aligning technology with older adults’ values and needs beyond the realm of technology-led innovations.