Sociotechnical Systems // Studio Day
Today
- Sociotechnical Systems
- Final Project Studio
For Next Time
- Work on the Final Project, due December Thursday 19th at 3PM.
- Be sure to update this spreadsheet with your team information.
- Milestone 2 is due Sunday!
- The Broader Impacts Part 3 Assignment is due tomorrow, December 6th at 7PM.
- Consider whether there is feedback you’d like to share about the class
Sociotechnical Systems
Sociotechnical systems are built with considerations towards and requirements set by hardware, software, and social structures. Robots as deployed in our industries, communities, and homes are sociotechnical systems. Today, we’ll consider social requirements placed on and impacts of robots deployed at industrial scales.
In small groups:
- Pick an industry we’ve been discussing (transportation, agriculture, logistics, manufacturing).
- Formulate 5 key social requirements or interactions that an automated solution in this sector could be designed for. To help develop your requirements, you might consider the following questions:
- Who owns this technology? Who uses it?
- Why automate in this sector? Who benefits (e.g., companies, managers/supervisors, engineers, workers, customers, communities, regions, etc.)?
- What is the lifecycle of the technology (development to end-of-life)?
- What are the consequences of not having this technology?
- When you have specified your social requirements, comment on the technical abilities a robot would need to have in order to meet these requirements. Are there existing systems that meet all or some of your criteria? How?
After we debrief, where you’ve been keeping your personal notes, reflect on the following questions: How should an engineer define, navigate, and assess social requirements and impacts on a technical system? What conversations are key to have during the design and implementation phases?
Additional Reading (for your consideration)
Some of the following articles may be of interest to expand on our conversation today: