Many real-world applications have been suggested in the swarm robotics literature. However, there is a general lack of understanding of what needs to be done for robot swarms to be useful and trusted by users in reality. This paper aims to investigate user perception of robot swarms in the workplace, and inform design principles for the deployment of future swarms in real-world applications. Three qualitative studies with a total of 37 participants were done across three sectors: fire and rescue, storage organization, and bridge inspection. Each study examined the users' perceptions using focus groups and interviews. In this paper, we describe our findings regarding: the current processes and tools used in these professions and their main challenges; attitudes toward robot swarms assisting them; and the requirements that would encourage them to use robot swarms. We found that there was a generally positive reaction to robot swarms for information gathering and automation of simple processes. Furthermore, a human in the loop is preferred when it comes to decision making. Recommendations to increase trust and acceptance are related to transparency, accountability, safety, reliability, ease of maintenance, and ease of use. Finally, we found that mutual shaping, a methodology to create a bidirectional relationship between users and technology developers to incorporate societal choices in all stages of research and development, is a valid approach to increase knowledge and acceptance of swarm robotics. This paper contributes to the creation of such a culture of mutual shaping between researchers and users, toward increasing the chances of a successful deployment of robot swarms in the physical realm.

Single‐use jumping robots that are mass‐producible and biodegradable could be quickly released for environmental sensing applications. Such robots would be pre‐loaded to perform a set number of jumps, in random directions and with random distances, removing the need for onboard energy and computation. Stochastic jumpers build on embodied randomness and large‐scale deployments to perform useful work. This paper introduces simulation results showing how to construct a large group of stochastic jumpers to perform environmental sensing, and the first demonstration of robot prototypes that can perform a set number of sequential jumps, have full‐body sensing, and are well suited to be made biodegradable. An interactive preprint version of the article can be found at: https://www.authorea.com/doi/full/10.22541/au.163525369.97561426.

Single-use jumping robots that are mass-producible and potentially biodegradable could be quickly released for environmental sensing applications. Such robots would be pre-loaded to perform a set number of jumps, at random directions and distances, removing the need for onboard energy and computation. Stochastic swarms build on embodied randomness and large-scale deployments to perform useful work. This paper introduces simulation results showing how to construct a stochastic swarm of jumpers to perform environmental sensing, and the first demonstration of robot prototypes which can perform a set number of sequential jumps, full-body sensing, and have the potential to be biodegradable. Corresponding author(s) Email: a.conn@bristol.ac.uksabine.hauert@bristol.ac.uk