Our project has explored new technologies called ‘trustworthy autonomous systems’ (TAS). 

We worked with 9 students at Greenacre School who became researchers with us. We call this being a ‘co-researcher’. 

For part one of our project, we had three workshops. 

In workshop one, we introduced ourselves, talked about hobbies and we asked big questions like ‘What is trust?’ and ‘Do we trust technology?’ 

In workshop two, we talked about making decisions about using technology and we developed some ‘circles of trust’. Our ‘circles of trust’ were circles on the ground where we placed people and objects depending on how much we trust them. 

We found that a key part of trusting technology is meeting the designers. 

When discussing TAS and  disability, we highlighted how it's not just about assistive technology. TAS is also about technology for social lives, friendships, play and leisure! This is very important if there is already exclusion from these. 

In workshop three, we had a play with two robots called Miro and Zeno. We talked about what we liked and disliked about them. We also thought about how they might be useful in our lives and the lives of our family and friends. 

Maker{futures} is an educational programme that provides children and young people with creative skills, knowledge and habits to make and mend things using tools and materials. 

We had three workshops with Maker{futures}. In workshop one, we introduced ourselves. We talked about things that we’d made that we were proud of. We also shared things we find challenging and need help with. After that, we had a play with some robots! 

In workshop two with Maker{futures}, we set about designing and thinking through how we might make our own robots. We used lots of materials like cardboard, tech, playdough and more! 

In workshop three, we made four prototypes. A prototype is a practice version or model of a product before it's made. 

Our prototypes included an electric fan, a robotic tea delivery tray, a messaging device and robotic chattering teeth! 

Our work with Maker{futures} was really important for our research methods of co-production and teamwork! 

After our workshops, we visited the Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) at the University of Sheffield. We had a tour of the building and all the latest technology, and we got to make our very own pen! 

We also visited the Institute for Safe Autonomy (ISA) at the University of York. We saw some new technologies and robotics here too. 

These trips were important in meeting the designers of technology and building trust. 

We’ve come together to think about what we’ve learnt from our workshops, trips and doing research together. 

We think that young people can and should be involved in thinking about, debating, designing and making TAS. 

The young people in our project are co-researchers and makers of technology. They have brilliant ideas on how we think about technology. We also worked together well to design and make it!

We think this way of working together gives us hope for better technology for the future. This means that technology can be more available for everyone.