Service Robotics in educational context: generating value through design methodology

This paper present an overview of the design methodology applied to Service Robotic in educational context, to explore and highlight weaknesses and strenghts related to the introduction of robotic solutions in educative activities, like attending lessons. The Design assumes, in this field, a key role to the production of value for the end users, moving its analysis from the environment to single actions, linking points of view from different disciplines. Specifically, the design process leads to a proposal of robotic telepresence service, in which technological aspects are evaluated in relation to ethical issues and the aim is to propose a service concept which actually meets human needs. To find the ethical dimension of the service, the design process synthesized the operation principles of the robot and explored the spectrum of possible applications, identifying users for whom the service would bring greater benefits, that in this case are people who experience unusual and discriminatory health condition, such as disabilities or disease requiring long-term care, as in cancer patients.