Emerging wearable robotics demand design approaches that address not only function, but also social meaning. In response, we present Sumbrella, a soft robotic garment developed as a speculative fashion probe. We first detail the design and fabrication of the Sumbrella, including sequenced origami-inspired bistable units, fabric pneumatic actuation chambers, cable driven shape morphing mechanisms, computer vision components, and an integrated wearable system comprising a hat and bolero jacket housing power and control electronics. Through a focus group with twelve creative technologists, we then used Sumbrella as a technological probe to explore how people interpreted, interacted, and imagined future relationships with soft robotic wearables. While Sumbrella allowed our participants to engage in rich discussion around speculative futures and expressive potential, it also surfaced concerns about exploitation, surveillance, and the personal risks and societal ethics of embedding biosensing technologies in public life. We contribute to the Human-Robot Interaction (HRI) field key considerations and recommendations for designing soft robotic garments, including the potential for kinesic communication, the impact of such technologies on social dynamics, and the importance of ethical guidelines. Finally, we provide a reflection on our application of speculative design; proposing that it allows HRI researchers to not only consider functionality, but also how wearable robots influence definitions of what is considered acceptable or desirable in public settings.

翻译：新兴的可穿戴机器人技术不仅需要关注功能性设计，更需回应其社会意义。为此，我们提出Sumbrella——一款作为思辨性时尚探针开发的软体机器人服装。我们首先详细阐述了Sumbrella的设计与制造过程，包括序列化的受折纸启发的双稳态单元、织物气动驱动腔、线缆驱动形态变换机构、计算机视觉组件，以及集成可穿戴系统（内含容纳电源与控制电子元件的帽子与波莱罗外套）。随后，我们通过一个由十二位创意技术专家组成的焦点小组，将Sumbrella作为技术探针，探究人们如何理解、互动并设想与软体机器人可穿戴设备的未来关系。尽管Sumbrella使参与者能够围绕思辨性未来与表达潜力展开深入讨论，但也引发了关于剥削、监控以及在公共生活中嵌入生物传感技术所涉及的个人风险与社会伦理的担忧。我们为人机交互领域贡献了设计软体机器人服装的关键考量与建议，包括动觉交流的潜力、此类技术对社会动态的影响，以及伦理准则的重要性。最后，我们对思辨性设计的应用进行了反思，提出该方法能促使人机交互研究者不仅考虑功能性，更能深入探究可穿戴机器人如何影响公共场景中被视为可接受或理想行为的定义标准。