Many HRI researchers have engaged in participatory research to include users in robot design processes. However, to our knowledge, people with mild cognitive impairment (PwMCI) and early stage dementia have yet to be included in developing and programming robots, and the HRI community lacks tools to facilitate their inclusion. We bridge this gap by introducing PODER (PrOgramming framework to Develop Robot behaviors), which enables a lived technology experience for PwMCI via scaffolding, peer programming, and development tools to support them as key developers of social robots. We conducted a study where PwMCI and early stage dementia used PODER to program robot interactions, and found that participants were highly engaged and deeply enjoyed their experience, creating programs for robots that reflected their interests, experiences, and needs. Our results show the impact of including participants with MCI and early stage dementia in robot programming, including an increased understanding of technology, shifting their perceived role from technology users to programmers, and desire to be involved with the end-to-end process. By releasing PODER to the community, we hope this work can facilitate the intentional inclusion of people with cognitive impairments in further HRI research.

The Emergency Department (ED) is a stressful, safety-critical environment, which is often overcrowded, noisy, chaotic, and understaffed. The built environment plays a key role in patient outcomes, experiences, and the mental health of healthcare workers (HCWs). However, once a space is built, it is difficult to change it; so the modularity and adaptability of new technologies such as robots could potentially help stakeholders mitigate some of these challenges; yet, there is a lack of research in this area, particularly in the ED. In this paper, we address this gap by engaging HCWs in a research-through-design process, utilizing design fiction, to envision a future resilient ED. Here, robots scurry along the ceiling, provide help at the bedside, and smart furniture and walls provide spaces for privacy and calm. We co-created design prototypes of future intelligent systems that can modify the built environment to support resilience, which we then used to co-create a Design Catalog with HCWs, which contains a collection of future technology prototypes contextualized within the ED. We found that HCWs envisioned many ways for intelligent systems to help them reimagine the built environment, including ways to enhance HCW-patient communication, improve patient experience, support both HCW and patient safety, and use reconfigurable spaces to support privacy. We hope our work inspires further exploration into using new technologies to reimagine and reconfigure the built environment to support resilient hospitals.