Google Intern Project
OVERVIEW
During the summer of 2025, I interned at Google Seed Studio as a UX designer, where I explored how interaction principles could shape the relationship between humans and companion robots at home. This project investigates how robots might exist not as task-driven assistants, but as quiet companions that adapt, observe, and grow with people over time. The goal was not to pitch a product, but to define foundational HRI (Human–Robot Interaction) design principles that could inform future explorations of relational AI and at-home robotics.
Achievement
-Navigated a completely ambiguous brief — independently defined direction and design focus for an undefined prompt (“explore companion robots”).
-Prototyped through making — built two functional prototypes (voice chatbot + proximity-following robot) to explore how companionship can feel alive and growing.
-Formed a design framework for robot companionship — established the five-stage life cycle with principles of Growth, Imperfection, Synchronization, and Reciprocity.
My Role
Interaction Design
Prototyping
Research
Team
Industrial Designers
User Researchers
Timeline
Jun-Sep 2025
TOOls
Figma
After Effect
Rhino
Physical prototyping
scroll down for more info
Process
The project began with an open-ended question: What could “human-to-human” interaction mean in the context of future home robots?
Given the ambiguity of the brief, I first worked to clarify the design space — mapping existing Human-Robot Interaction (HRI) research, identifying gaps in current domestic robot experiences, and aligning with the Seed Studio’s vision of exploring emotional, relational, and ambient forms of communication.
To guide exploration, I adopted a thinking-through-making approach — using prototyping as a way to think, question, and uncover the emotional nuances of human-robot companionship. I synthesized insights from literature and observation into five evolving principles of companionship, framing the robot’s journey from first encounter to continuity
Collaborating closely with industrial designers and UX researchers, I facilitated design critiques and storytelling sessions that bridged speculative design with tangible interaction moments.These collaborations helped translate abstract emotional goals into concrete behavioral prototypes.
To bring these principles to life, I designed and built a functional robot prototype, exploring how its behavior could embody different stages of companionship.
By filming the interactions between the robot and a human, I was able to demonstrate how small changes in motion, distance, and responsiveness could evoke distinct emotional meanings — turning abstract principles into felt experiences.
