Designing Robots with, not for: A Co-Design Framework for Empowering Interactions in Forensic Psychiatry

TL;DR

This paper presents a co-design framework for developing companion robots in forensic psychiatry, emphasizing patient empowerment and ethical considerations through collaborative workshops with stakeholders.

Contribution

It introduces a novel participatory design process involving patients, caregivers, and therapists to create ethically sensitive robotic interventions in forensic mental health care.

Findings

Empowered patient involvement enhances robot design relevance.

Co-design process reveals ethical concerns and desired features.

Initial prototypes facilitate stakeholder reflection and feedback.

Abstract

Forensic mental health care involves the treatment of individuals with severe mental disorders who have committed violent offences. These settings are often characterized by high levels of bureaucracy, risk avoidance, and restricted autonomy. Patients frequently experience a profound loss of control over their lives, leading to heightened psychological stress-sometimes resulting in isolation as a safety measure. In this study, we explore how co-design can be used to collaboratively develop a companion robot that helps monitor and regulate stress while maintaining tracking of the patients' interaction behaviours for long-term intervention. We conducted four co-design workshops in a forensic psychiatric clinic with patients, caregivers, and therapists. Our process began with the presentation of an initial speculative prototype to therapists, enabling reflection on shared concerns, ethical risks, and desirable features. This was followed by a creative ideation session with patients, a third workshop focused on defining desired functions and emotional responses, and we are planning a final prototype demo to gather direct patient feedback. Our findings emphasize the importance of empowering patients in the design process and adapting proposals based on their current emotional state. The goal was to empower the patient in the design process and ensure each patient's voice was heard.