Disability Rights and Robotics: Co-producing Futures

People with lived experience of disability, family carers, students and academics in robotics and social sciences came together as co-researchers to ask: How can robotics technology support disability rights? How can co-production research be developed to explore this question? Using a knowledge café approach (Brown, 2001), we defined “ethical” research, generated questions, and tested robots. Co-production continued during the COVID-19 lockdown with the creation of a website, cartoon report, and international impact events. Institutional barriers prevented some members from continuing, which we discuss. The themes highlight how robotics technology might create opportunities and relationships towards living a full life. However, control, use of personal data, and equality of access are concerns calling for co-production at the earliest stage of robotics design. We end with a reflexive account that draws on post-human disability studies that resist privileged views of “the future” and embrace a more fluid, relational discourse.