Sustainable Robot Future: A Speculative Design about Humanity, Robots, and Ecology
Lingyun Chen, Zitao Zhang, Muwu Shan, Qing Xiao, Eli Blevis · 2025
Robotics has emerged as a critical field of technological innovation. However, current design paradigms, rooted in industrial-era models, often prioritize centralized control, planned obsolescence, and rigid, one-size-fits-all solutions, undermining adaptability, sustainability, and personal autonomy. To address these limitations, we propose a speculative robotic design framework rooted in Sustainability, Adaptability, and Modularity. Our framework envisions robots as modular systems that can be assembled, reconfigured, and personalized by people, shifting design control away from centralized decision-makers and enabling long-term usability. Modularity enables adaptability and reduces obsolescence, while adaptability reinforces sustainability through circular resource use and extended lifecycles. This speculative framework not only provides a technical vision but also reimagines robotic design as a participatory and collaborative process aligned with ecological responsibility. Our speculative framework offers a manifesto for systemic change, reshaping robotics for a more equitable, sustainable future between humans, robots, and ecology.