Today, technology has become an essential part of our daily lives, and mental health settings are no exception. We have been incorporating computers, mobile devices, and wireless devices into every aspect of our lives for years. Recently, The application of social robots has become prevalent in diverse areas, such as food delivery services, health services, and even the education service. However, utilizing human-centred robot design to enhance mental health and well-being is a relatively unexplored area. With the rapid advancement of technology, this new topic of social robots presents an exciting area worth exploring further.

In this research, we investigate the rising prevalence of anxiety and panic disorders among students and dive into the potential of robots as a supportive tool. While academic pressure can amplify anxiety and panic disorders among students, research shows that it can occur during childhood and adolescence. Social robots offer a unique approach for their consistent, unbiased, and reassuring nature, marking a promising novel avenue for intervention. Based on the literature review, most of the previous work on students’ mental wellness supported by social robots has been conducted from the perspectives of coaches, psychologists, and educators. However, this analysis raises an essential question regarding mental health well-being involving social robots: how much are the perspectives and experiences of students accurately reflected?

The main goal of this research is to give priority to the perspectives of students, who are the primary users of social robots, with the goal of reducing anxiety and panic disorders. It is a comprehensive investigation into their perceptions, expectations, and requirements for these interventions. Furthermore, the research endeavours to evaluate the level of trust that people have in social robots and how well they can help in mitigating symptoms of anxiety and panic disorders. The latter part of the analysis is dedicated to pinpointing the qualities and features students consider appealing in social robots intended for these purposes. The study seeks to gather valuable insights from end-users.

The research methodology involves four strategic phases. The first phase is an extensive literature review to explore the intersection between mental health and social robots. This review involves analyzing many academic sources to chart the existing landscape, identify gaps, and assess the potential for social robots as therapeutic tools, particularly for students. This exploration forms a fundamental framework that emphasizes the creation of robotic designs that cater to the specific needs of students. As part of the research's second phase, sixteen high school students were engaged in focus groups and co-design sessions to gather feedback with the help of NAO robot, a social robot. This qualitative technique provided a deeper understanding of the students' needs and highlighted any potential obstacles that could hinder the robot's acceptance.

The knowledge obtained in this stage was crucial in directing the subsequent design phase. Following the pre-study session with sixteen high school students, a low-fidelity prototype of EMO-Dump was developed based on the results. EMO-Dump is a social robot that aims to assist individuals in coping with anxiety and panic disorders. A team of nine university students collaborated to refine the prototype of EMO-Dump further, incorporating feedback from the previous user study. This collaborative and iterative approach ensured that the final high-fidelity prototype was developed with the intention of being easy to use, showing understanding and care towards the users, and specifically meeting the requirements of students.

The results of this research are multi-faceted, contributing to developing guidelines for in-tegrating social robots into mental health, identifying their limitations, and creating a high-fidelity prototype of a social robot in this instance. This study aims to pave the way for designing more intuitive, empathetic, tailored, and effective robot-assisted interventions, thereby advancing student mental health and well-being.

To summarize, this thesis proposes a unique combination of technological advancement and empathetic design. It utilizes student perspectives to create a social robot prototype that can effectively support mental health among students. The objective of this research is to establish the significance of social robots in therapeutic interventions by offering a fresh approach to support students, which can help enhance their mental well-being and academic success.