UC Santa Cruz

This body of work uses Research-through-Design methods to develop deformable controllers that serve target populations in self-regulation techniques. Two key projects are described, with several iterations of each. The controllers were developed using off-the-shelf materials as a basis for shared development between research groups. The first project presented is the development of an anthropomorphic creature, in the tradition of Socially Assistive Robotics, designed to scaffold children's emotional self regulation through an intimate-space interaction (taking place with the object held close to the body). I describe the project from brainstorming to iteration to deployment, as well as knowledgetransfer to a private company for deployment and some of their findings. The second project described is a deformable controller in the form of a ball that can be used to track fidgeting differences and focus intervention, between neuro-typical and ADHD users. Both these projects were developed as part of multidisciplinary teams with members at and beyond UCSC. The development and deployment of these devices extends research insights about the benifits of deformable controllers that leverage granular repetitive interactions to provide practical and expressive value to end users, while providing a research platform for further investigation into personalized interaction.