Work

Challenges and design requirements for public-facing social robots

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Public-facing social robots are increasingly being introduced into environments such as airports, libraries, hospitals, and campuses to provide information, assistance, and engagement. Their operation in these open and dynamic settings introduces complex challenges that cut across privacy, cybersecurity, ethics, usability, and regulation. While existing studies have explored these dimensions separately, few have examined how they intersect in real-world deployments. This study draws on semi-structured interviews with twenty-one multidisciplinary experts to identify cross-cutting risks and practical design requirements for public-facing social robots. Thematic analysis identified interrelated challenges concerning technical capabilities, public interaction, and organisational conditions, including risks associated with third-party components. Experts emphasized privacy- and security-by-design principles, adaptive and inclusive interaction, resilient technical architectures, and certification mechanisms for responsible deployment. The study’s contribution is a context-specific synthesis that organizes these established engineering and governance principles around the conditions of public-facing deployment. The resulting requirements and indicators are presented as candidate guidance for subsequent operationalization and validation, rather than as validated engineering standards.

Source: Telematics and Informatics Reports

DOI: 10.1016/j.teler.2026.100380

Authors: Samson O. Oruma, Mary Sánchez-Gordón, Ricardo Colomo-Palacios, Vasileios Gkioulos

Institutions: Østfold University of Applied Sciences, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid

Language: English

Topic: Social Robot Interaction and HRI

Subfield: Social Psychology

Field: Psychology

Domain: Social Sciences

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $1,790

Funder: Norges Forskningsråd