Sociotechnical Systems // Studio Day

Today

  • Sociotechnical Systems
  • Final Project Studio

For Next Time

  • Work on your Final Project
    • Milestone 2 is due today Monday December 8th at 7PM
    • The Final Project will be due Tuesday December 16th at 7PM
      • Feel free to invite folks to our final event!
  • Work on your Broader Impacts Phase 3, due on Friday December 12th at 7PM
  • Please fill out your YOGA Part 2 by December Friday 19th at 3PM (end of the finals period)
  • Any outstanding work is welcome to be submitted; talk to an instructor if you have questions/concerns.
  • Consider whether there is feedback you’d like to share about the class
    • I’d also appreciate if you filled out the official course survey from the Registrar’s Office – the results will be available to me and to anyone teaching CompRobo in the future, and it will help me be more effective in other classes as well. Thank you!

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:

  1. Pick an industry related to at least one of your Broader Impacts robots at the table.
  2. 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?
  3. 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 share-out, we’ll come back together as a group and discuss: 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: