Speculative robotic co-design for coastal restoration: a case study with Landcare volunteers in Newcastle

This paper explores the potential role of speculative artificial life (A-Life) robotics in community-led coastal restoration, focusing on their capacity to living-with. Through a participatory design process involving volunteers from the Landcare Project in Newcastle, NSW, the study investigates how robotic systems might be meaningfully integrated into restoration practices without displacing human agency. Central to this research is the principle of reciprocity, which guided both the methodological approach and the design process. The researchers worked alongside the community, not only contributing to restoration activities but also ensuring that the research responded to community-defined needs and values. This reciprocal engagement fostered trust and shaped the speculative design to reflect local priorities. The findings highlight both the opportunities and limitations of introducing speculative robotics into conservation settings, with participants expressing a preference for systems that are flexible, non-intrusive, and responsive to their environment. Ultimately, the research makes a particular contribution by integrating speculative robotics, ethnographic/reciprocal methodology, and co-design to envision technologies that are not only imaginative but also grounded in the lived realities and relational ethics of community-led environmental existence.