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As robots are increasingly used to help people across the globe, it is important to design these devices to curate positive experiences for a broad range of people. For example, among student populations, who are susceptible to high levels of stress and anxiety, mental health has become a significant concern in countries including the United States and Japan. This presents the opportunity to design robots with the intent of fostering companionship, which may help with mental health. We present a collaborative effort between Japanese and American university students, funded with a National Science Foundation Grant, to design and implement Kawaii (Japanese cuteness) companion robots through in-person collaboration. The long-term objective is to investigate whether the perceived cuteness of these robots contributes to increased user satisfaction across cultures. Over seven weeks, we researched the Japanese concept of Kawaii and its application in design. During this time we also designed Kawaii and non-Kawaii virtual companion robots and evaluated the initial designs, including analyzing the design team’s response to the designs using electroencephalograms (EEGs) and heart-rate variability sensors. Utilizing these results, we revised the initial designs and then implemented them using Blender, a 3D Printer, and an Arduino-controlled Zumo robot. The robots were designed to have “Kawaii” and “non-Kawaii” attributes through visual, auditory, and mobile design elements. Therefore, some robots were more “Kawaii” than other robots due to variations in the design. Through designing, implementing, and evaluating user-response to “Kawaii” companion robots, we gained a deeper understanding of Japanese culture and cross-cultural collaboration. We will present our cross-cultural design process, the robots we designed, and data that shows how college students responded to the various designs through follow-up surveys. 

In recent years, concerns about anxiety and other mental health issues in university students have been widely reported. Some college campuses have seen increased student requests to bring emotional support animals to cam-pus, although these animals are hard to care for in shared living spaces that are common in college settings. This paper reports on a project that seeks to gain a deeper understanding of the role that kawaii (Japanese cuteness) plays in fostering positive human response to, and acceptance of, companion robots for use by college students. In the long term, this may lead to an under-standing of techniques for designing companion robots that assist with student mental health. Specifically, in this paper, we report on a persona-driven and scenario-driven cross-cultural design of two kawaii companion robots and two non-kawaii companion robots. After describing the design process and presenting the companion robot designs, the paper reports on a user study that investigates and compares the desirability of the companion robots based on their level of kawaii. After reading a persona and scenario that provided the context for the design, the study participants viewed videos of the companion robots and answered survey questions regarding the designs. Additionally, participant facial expressions were recorded by iMotions software while the participants viewed videos of the companion robots.