Beyond Usability: A UX Case Study on Using "Withdrawal Design" to Challenge Engagement Metrics in Social Robotics (opens in new tab)

Social robots for children with autism are often evaluated through engagement and interaction quality, assuming the robot acts as a social scaffold. We report a mixed-methods "withdrawal" study that tests a harder question: what changes when the robot is removed. In an 8-week home-based randomized controlled trial (N=40), children either retained a consumer social robot (Qrobot) or had it withdrawn after initial use. Quantitatively, continued ac...