COCOON : Emotional Survival in the Age of Automated Care

초록

Cocoon is a speculative autonomous mobility system designed to support children in a future where traditional caregiving structures have collapsed. As birth rates decline and parental presence diminishes due to socioeconomic pressures, children are increasingly left to navigate daily life alone. Cocoon addresses this by offering a responsive, emotionally intelligent space that interacts through voice and gesture recognition. It features a transformable seating system, an omnidirectional treadmill, and a character-based interface that adapts to a child's physical and emotional state. By incorporating affective computing and embodied interaction, Cocoon fosters a sense of companionship and autonomy during transit. Rather than replacing human care, the project critically explores what it means for technology to assume caregiving roles. Through scenario-based user flows and immersive storytelling, Cocoon presents a provocative design fiction that challenges conventional mobility paradigms and raises ethical questions about the automation of empathy and care in children's everyday lives. © 2025 Copyright held by the owner/author(s).

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