Designing robots with values in mind: the role of colors in value-sensitive HRI

Abstract

Colors play a crucial role in shaping perceptions and psychological responses, making them an essential consideration in robot design, particularly in the design of value-sensitive Human-Robot Interactions (HRI). Since human values guide our actions, understanding the association between robot colors and values is key to creating effective robot designs. This study employed an online survey (N = 142) to investigate the relationship between human values relevant in a hospital context and their associated colors, as well as to identify suitable robot color schemes. Our findings show that Green and Turquoise are strongly linked to values such as competence, physical well-being, and security, which are of high priority in hospital settings. Consequently, participants preferred these color schemes for hospital robots. This work expands the theoretical understanding of color-value associations in HRI and offers practical design implications, emphasizing the need for context-aligned, value-sensitive robot designs in healthcare.