Interdisciplinary Research and Integration in Social Robotics

Abstract: In this paper, we analyse what interdisciplinary integration looks like in a research project aimed at developing Probo, a social robot that can be used as an interface by therapists working with autistic children. With our analysis, we contribute to a piecemeal approach to theorizing about integration, which is sensitive to the diversity of goals of integration. We first perform a case study of the interdisciplinary research underlying the development of Probo. The case study shows how interdisciplinary integration was achieved by means of disciplines interlocking and iterative research steps triggered by feedback. Next, using function concepts from philosophy of technology, we frame the Probo case as a paradigmatic example of a type of interdisciplinary research that is aimed at producing new technical artefacts. We elaborate on the type of interdisciplinarity and show how it points to limitations of established characterizations of interdisciplinarity.