OVERVIEW
Unveiled at Computex 2018, AQUA redefined the home robot—from gadget to family member. With whole-home sensing, expressive movement, and social connection, it cared for both the home and the people within it.
MY ROLE
“Interaction Design Lead · Defined human–robot behavior and crafted the family-centered AI experience for Computex 2018.”
RESEARCH
- We analyzed 2017–2018 home robots — including ASUS Zenbo, Jibo, LG Hub, and Riley — mapping their interaction models, sensing, and positioning. Most shared the same flaws: weak sensing, overreliance on faces and voices, single-user design, and low adoption appeal.
INSIGHTS
Trust through reliability — False alarms and blind spots broke confidence; consistency built trust.
Beyond facial cues — True empathy comes from gestures and body language, not faces alone.
- From device to family member — Real homes are multi-user and dynamic; robots must adapt to family life, not just serve individuals.
FROM GADGET TO FAMILY MEMBER
AQUA’s concept was built on one core ambition: to move home robots beyond novelty gadgets and make them feel like trustworthy, expressive members of the household.
From our research, three design principles guided this shift:
Star Senses
Beyond a single camera, AQUA perceives behaviors and environments — detecting falls, fire, air quality, and activity at the front door.
Conscious UI
Combining voice, gestures, and body language — nodding, bowing, turning — AQUA interacts with people naturally and adaptively.
- Social Existent
- More than an assistant, AQUA becomes a shared presence — connecting family members through messages and notifications.
Together, these principles transformed AQUA from a device into a family member — empathetic, present, and truly belonging at home.
INTERACTION FLOWS
After shaping the concept, we mapped AQUA’s behavior through close collaboration with designers, engineers, and developers.
By aligning eyes, body, voice, and screen, AQUA responded not as a machine, but as a family member — attentive, empathetic, and present in daily life.
The flows defined how AQUA behaved in daily and critical moments:
- State transitions — Blinks, posture shifts, and dimming signaled standby and sleep.
- Wake & recognition — Triggered by proximity or voice, greeting family or politely refusing strangers.
- Proactive support — Surfaced reminders and personalized home screens.
- Multi-modal input — Combined voice, gesture, and near-screen control.
- Environmental response — Monitored air, fire, and falls; handled visitors with two-way talk and family chat updates.
EXPRESSIVE DESIGN
We designed AQUA’s expressive system to bring emotional presence into the home—combining eyes and body language to communicate attention, mood, and care without words.
Eyes as personality
Six customizable eye styles with 16 expressions each allowed families to shape AQUA’s personality — from playful to minimal.
These visual cues gave the robot emotional range and a sense of individuality.
Body as intent
Through a six-axis motion system, AQUA expressed meaning beyond words—nodding to acknowledge, bowing to greet, tilting to show curiosity, and swaying gently to feel alive.
Through countless iterations, AQUA’s eyes and body began to move with empathy — like a living companion.
THE HEART of HOME INTERACTION
AQUA OS blends the clarity of a bento grid with the fluidity of water, creating a system that feels modular yet alive. It distills information to its essentials, turning the screen into a living mosaic of family life.
Built on personalization, immersion, and communication, AQUA OS recognizes each family member and uses water-inspired motion to make interaction feel natural and emotionally calm.
AQUAFORM
Guided by two metaphors — Water for adaptability and Mosaic for unity — the design merges softness and structure, transforming AQUA’s screen into a fluid, human interface.
EXHIBITION & RECOGNITION
At Computex 2018, AQUA debuted as a live prototype featuring AI vision, gesture interaction, six-axis expressiveness, and home-safety functions.
Coverage from Yahoo Finance, MoneyDJ, and Digitimes praised its eldercare focus and mass-production readiness, framing it as a practical counterpart to ASUS Zenbo.
The showcase validated our research-to-prototype process and Pegatron’s strength in hardware–software–AI integration.
“AQUA took the spotlight at Computex 2018 as Pegatron’s bold step into AI-powered home robotics.”
PROJECT INFO
— COMPANY
PEGATRON
— ROLE
Interaction Design Lead
— YEAR
2017-2018
As Interaction Design Lead, I shaped how AQUA sensed, expressed, and connected with families. Research revealed gaps in reliability, expressiveness, and multi-user adaptation—insights that defined Star-sense, Conscious UI, and Social Existent.
In close collaboration with engineers and designers, I unified eyes, body, voice, and screen into one multi-modal behavior system, laying the foundation for AQUA OS.
At Computex 2018, I co-directed the live demo, turning months of design into an empathetic showcase of Pegatron’s AI-driven innovation. The project demonstrated how holistic UX design can bridge AI perception, motion design, and emotional engagement.