Hybrid event - Register now and join online if you are not in Kingston: https://queensu.zoom.us/j/98785298451?pwd=m1m0Mv9IA5wVkgufk4joQbil1JaoZB.1

This webinar introduces graduate-level designers and researchers to the reality of building public-facing robotic systems for municipal applications such as last-mile delivery, inspection, maintenance, mobility support, and public safety. Drawing on real-world case studies and regulatory analysis from across the globe, the session reframes robots and drones and participants in shared civic space, not just autonomous machines. 

Participants will explore why traditional engineering assumptions- trained users, opt-in interaction, and controlled environments- break down in public contexts, and how design decisions around legibility, predictability, accessibility, data practices, and accountability directly spare deployment outcomes. Special attention is given to lessons learned from fragmented regulation, reactive bans, and incidents involving sidewalk robots and robotaxis in U.S. and Canadian cities, including Toronto and San Francisco. 

This webinar equips emerging researchers and designers with a human-centered, governance-aware design lens, enabling them…