Plan a Field Study for an Autonomous Sidewalk Delivery Robot
Overview
What this challenge is about.
You will design a mixed-methods field study spanning two weeks of observation on a fixed route, intercept surveys with ~80 pedestrians, and 8 short interviews with neighborhood stakeholders (cafe owners, accessibility advocates). Deliver: a 6-page study protocol, a survey instrument (English + Portuguese), an observer codebook with category definitions, a consent and ethics package referencing the city's research-permit requirements, and a pre-registered analysis plan stating the primary and secondary hypotheses.
The Brief
What you'll do, and what you'll demonstrate.
Produce a runnable, ethics-cleared field-study package that will pass a Lisbon city-council review.
Earning criteria — what you'll demonstrate
- Design a mixed-methods field study around an embodied AI system
- Produce ethics and consent materials appropriate to a regulator-facing study
- Write an observer codebook that two independent observers can apply consistently
- Pre-register an analysis plan with primary and secondary hypotheses
Program Fit
Where this fits in your program.
Sharpens the same skills your degree expects you to demonstrate.
Skills
Skills you'll demonstrate.
Each one shows up on your verified credential.
Careers
Roles this prepares you for.
Real titles. Real skill bridges. Pick the one closest to your trajectory.
AI Safety Researcher
Designing a regulator-facing field study with pre-registration and ethics is core safety-research work on deployed AI systems.
This challenge sharpens
- field-study-design
- research-ethics
- pre-registration
Research Scientist
A pre-registered mixed-methods plan with an observer codebook is the methodological foundation a junior research scientist is expected to be able to deliver.
This challenge sharpens
- field-study-design
- observer-coding
- pre-registration
AI Product Manager
Owning the regulator-facing study package is the AI PM's job at any robotics or autonomous-vehicle company entering a new city.
This challenge sharpens
- survey-design
- research-ethics
- field-study-design