I-Robot

A concept for an I-Robot that can be used in supermarket, for people who are in need such as elderly and disabled.

Project theme:

Design an I-Robot for any of age range (Children, Teenager, Adults, Elderly)

Design Brief: To design a shopping companion robot that will provide supermarket’s customers with a better experience

Reflection:

Initially, because this project theme is relatively broad, it was hard for me to decide which age range should I target, and what purpose of a Robot should I design. That was until one day, I suddenly came across the video mentioned earlier. After watching that video, I realized just how elderly have been trying their best to adapt to what’s around them, which are usually meant for younger people. Although in Singapore, the government did take into consideration and make elderly-friendly spaces, however, there are times where I noticed that elderly still struggles. For example, when an elderly asked me to help her take an item down from a tall shelf, or pick something up from the floor.

What impacted me the most was when the elderly interviewed in the video said, “All of a sudden one day I was aware that young people just sort of looked through me. If I am standing in a line to ask a question at a counter and 3 people walk over, they will speak to them first.”

This makes me reflect on how the elderly have been feeling rather disassociate with the current generation. While doing this assignment, people with disabilities came along too. If by designing a robot can help them achieve a better shopping experience, not feeling as if they are troubling the staffs and anyone else, I would like to do so. Hence I decided to design a robot with the elderly and disabled in mind, while still for general public use.

This project has been an eyeopener to me, especially on how elderly really feels, and their perspectives about the spaces around them, not just in Singapore.

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