Fizzy 3.0: What role can a robotic ball play in enhancing (health)care for vulnerable populations?
Feb 2023 - ongoing
Healthcare systems are under pressure from aging populations and rising chronic conditions, with inequalities hitting vulnerable groups the hardest. Simple, technology-supported intervention, such as physical activity promotion through a robotic ball offer promising solutions to these challenges. This project investigates the design of the robotic ball and its integration into healthcare systems through participatory and performing arts-inspired design practices.
Technologies are becoming ubiquitous not only in our everyday life, but also in healthcare to improve the quality of care and support the work practices of professionals. Fizzy the robotic ball exemplifies this shift by motivating individuals to engage in physical activity. Designed to support a wide range of users from children to older adults, Fizzy can be integrated into various settings, including rehabilitation centers and nursing homes.
With its familiar, ball-like appearance and movement-based interaction, Fizzy requires no technical expertise to use. These qualities enable individuals to engage with Fizzy both as a regular ball and as an interactive agent—by kicking, tapping, or even petting it. While its behaviors can be personalized by adjusting its behavioral libraries, Fizzy can generally approach people, bump into them, move away, hide, invite them to dance, or simply exist as a passive ball. In doing so, Fizzy motivates people to move, whether this movement is just getting up from a couch or is intense, repetitive, and targeted exercises required for physiotherapy.
As technical infrastructure, Fizzy relies on an under-actuated pendulum-type locomotion principle, utilizing a single motor and an inertial measurement unit (IMU) sensor. Moreover, it does not contain any microphones or language-dependent interaction modalities (e.g., text- or speech-based interfaces). These features make Fizzy an ultra-low-cost and minimalistic intervention, being well-suited for use in private, culturally diverse, and resource-constrained environments, supporting inclusivity across all communities and socioeconomic backgrounds.
Within this project, we are exploring which healthcare practices and vulnerable population subgroups can benefit the most from Fizzy through research-through-design methodology, iterative prototyping, participatory design and performing-arts inspired practices. The research and design activities include a workshop with theatre actors and puppeteers to investigate Fizzy’s emergent behaviors, co-design sessions with older adults and healthcare professionals using cinematic prototyping techniques, and experimental studies with children to assess Fizzy’s impact on sedentary behavior, among others. Such activities enable us to design a technology that addresses users’ latent needs and preferences, while being well integrated into work practices and the broader healthcare system.
Link to research: Exploring the Potential of Spherical Robots to Promote Physical Activity at Home: A Pattern Language | ACM Transactions on Human-Robot Interaction