4,991 research outputs found
Toward Family-Robot Interactions: A Family-Centered Framework in HRI
As robotic products become more integrated into daily life, there is a
greater need to understand authentic and real-world human-robot interactions to
inform product design. Across many domestic, educational, and public settings,
robots interact with not only individuals and groups of users, but also
families, including children, parents, relatives, and even pets. However,
products developed to date and research in human-robot and child-robot
interactions have focused on the interaction with their primary users,
neglecting the complex and multifaceted interactions between family members and
with the robot. There is a significant gap in knowledge, methods, and theories
for how to design robots to support these interactions. To inform the design of
robots that can support and enhance family life, this paper provides (1) a
narrative review exemplifying the research gap and opportunities for
family-robot interactions and (2) an actionable family-centered framework for
research and practices in human-robot and child-robot interaction
IMPROVING SOCIAL COMMUNICATION SKILLS IN AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDERS USING PROGRAMMABLE TOY ROBOTS
Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are a group of lifelong disabilities that affect people’s ability to communicate and understand social cues. An individual with ASD has difficulties in recognizing body language, making eye contact, and understanding other people’s emotions. Rapid progress in technology offers increasing possibilities for innovation in treatment for individuals with ASD.In recent years, advances have enabled programmable toy robots (PTRs) to help individuals improve their social skills and communication abilities. Over the past decade, the use of PTRs with autistic children has received considerable attention, even though research on this topic is in its infancy.This article analyzes the recent progress in the use of PTRs in the ASD scope. It illustrates an exploratory research conducted on four adolescents with ASD aimed at defining an experiment to evaluate the effectiveness of PTRs in their social communication.The exploratory research results are encouraging, although they demonstrated the complexity in determining the feasibility and validity of robots in the social communication of autistic people.
Integrated Scenario-based Design Methodology for Collaborative Technology Innovation
The paper presents a scenario-based methodology developed and tested throughout cooperative research and development projects. It is aimed at supporting information technology innovation with an end-to-end Human and Social Sciences assistance. This methodology provides an integrated approach combining a vision of the potential users, business aspects and technological challenges throughout the design process. An original combination of different methods is proposed and experimented: user-centred design, scenario-based design, user and functional requirements analysis, business value analysis, user acceptance studies, and visualization methods. This methodology has been implemented in three European R&D projects, in the domain of the telecommunications and Internet infrastructure. The key contributions of this approach are that it unifies brings together visions of the users, potential business value and technology challenges thanks to scenario construction.Scenario-based design ; user requirements ; business economics ; functional requirements ; visualization
My boy builds coffins. Future memories of your loved ones
The research is focus on the concept of storytelling associated with product design, trying to investigate new ways of designing and a possible future scenario related to the concept of death. MY BOY BUILDS COFFINS is a gravestone made using a combination of cremation’s ashes and resin. It is composed by a series of holes in which the user can stitch a text, in order to remember the loved one. The stitching need of a particular yarn produced in Switzerland using some parts of human body. Project also provides another version which uses LED lights instead of the yarn. The LEDs - thanks to an inductive coupling - will light when It will be posed in the hole. The gravestone can be placed where you want, as if it would create a little altar staff at home. In this way, there is a real connection between the user and the dearly departed
Boosting children's creativity through creative interactions with social robots
Creativity is an ability with psychological and developmental benefits. Creative levels are
dynamic and oscillate throughout life, with a first major decline occurring at the age of 7 years
old. However, creativity is an ability that can be nurtured if trained, with evidence suggesting an
increase in this ability with the use of validated creativity training. Yet, creativity training for
young children (aged between 6-9 years old) appears as scarce. Additionally, existing training
interventions resemble test-like formats and lack of playful dynamics that could engage children
in creative practices over time. This PhD project aimed at contributing to creativity stimulation
in children by proposing to use social robots as intervention tools, thus adding playful and
interactive dynamics to the training. Towards this goal, we conducted three studies in schools,
summer camps, and museums for children, that contributed to the design, fabrication, and
experimental testing of a robot whose purpose was to re-balance creative levels. Study 1 (n =
140) aimed at testing the effect of existing activities with robots in creativity and provided initial
evidence of the positive potential of robots for creativity training. Study 2 (n = 134) aimed at
including children as co-designers of the robot, ensuring the robot’s design meets children’s
needs and requirements. Study 3 (n = 130) investigated the effectiveness of this robot as a tool
for creativity training, showing the potential of robots as creativity intervention tools. In sum,
this PhD showed that robots can have a positive effect on boosting the creativity of children.
This places social robots as promising tools for psychological interventions.Criatividade Ă© uma habilidade com benefĂcios no desenvolvimento saudável. Os nĂveis de
criatividade sĂŁo dinâmicos e oscilam durante a vida, sendo que o primeiro maior declĂnio
acontece aos 7 anos de idade. No entanto, a criatividade Ă© uma habilidade que pode ser nutrida se
treinada e evidĂŞncias sugerem um aumento desta habilidade com o uso de programas validados
de criatividade. Ainda assim, os programas de criatividade para crianças pequenas (entre os 6-9
anos de idade) sĂŁo escassos. Adicionalmente, estes programas adquirem o formato parecido ao
de testes, faltando-lhes dinâmicas de brincadeira e interatividade que poderão motivar as crianças
a envolverem-se em práticas criativas ao longo do tempo. O presente projeto de doutoramento
procurou contribuir para a estimulação da criatividade em crianças propondo usar robôs sociais
como ferramenta de intervenção, adicionando dinâmicas de brincadeira e interação ao treino.
Assim, conduzimos três estudos em escolas, campos de férias, e museus para crianças que
contribuĂram para o desenho, fabricação, e teste experimental de um robĂ´ cujo objetivo Ă© ser uma
ferramenta que contribui para aumentar os nĂveis de criatividade. O Estudo 1 (n = 140) procurou
testar o efeito de atividade já existentes com robôs na criatividade e mostrou o potencial positivo
do uso de robôs para o treino criativo. O Estudo 2 (n = 134) incluiu crianças como co-designers
do robô, assegurando que o desenho do robô correspondeu às necessidades das crianças. O
Estudo 2 (n = 130) investigou a eficácia deste robô como ferramenta para a criatividade,
demonstrando o seu potencial para o treino da criatividade. Em suma, o presente doutoramento
mostrou que os robôs poderão ter um potencial criativo em atividades com crianças. Desta
forma, os robôs sociais poderão ser ferramentas promissoras em intervenções na psicologia
A Review of Verbal and Non-Verbal Human-Robot Interactive Communication
In this paper, an overview of human-robot interactive communication is
presented, covering verbal as well as non-verbal aspects of human-robot
interaction. Following a historical introduction, and motivation towards fluid
human-robot communication, ten desiderata are proposed, which provide an
organizational axis both of recent as well as of future research on human-robot
communication. Then, the ten desiderata are examined in detail, culminating to
a unifying discussion, and a forward-looking conclusion
Teachers’ Perception for Integrating Educational Robots and Use as Teaching Assistants in Thai Primary Schools
This study focused on teachers’ perception for integrating educational robots into learning and the feedback of teachers and students who used an education robot prototype as a part of learning. Data were collected from 510 primary school teachers who were used in a confirmatory analysis of factor model. Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) indicated a good fit with a six-factor model in the observed data, which could be presented through six dimensions of robotic education quality, including social interaction, cognitive function, teaching method, learner characteristics, main features, and content. The prototype-testing phase was carried out using 5th grade students at a primary school in Thailand. The robot was tested for 10 hours, which included 20 students participating in the focus group. The research results showed that integrating the six dimensions of robotic education into the educational robot prototype resulted in a strong positive improvement in the focus groups learners’ behavior and supported the instructors during the learning process. In contrast, some teachers lacked experience and confidence with robots integrated with LMS, which caused challenging obstacles in teaching. The results were achieved when integrating the six-factor model into education robots to improve student learning. Future researchers should expand their studies to look into the opportunities and challenges that teachers and school administrators face in the classroom. Doi: 10.28991/esj-2021-SP1-09 Full Text: PD
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