The impact of robot tutor nonverbal social behavior on child learning

Several studies have indicated that interacting with social robots in educational contexts may lead to a greater learning than interactions with computers or virtual agents. As such, an increasing amount of social human–robot interaction research is being conducted in the learning domain, particularly with children. However, it is unclear precisely what social behavior a robot should employ in such interactions. Inspiration can be taken from human–human studies; this often leads to an assumption that the more social behavior an agent utilizes, the better the learning outcome will be. We apply a nonverbal behavior metric to a series of studies in which children are taught how to identify prime numbers by a robot with various behavioral manipulations. We find a trend, which generally agrees with the pedagogy literature, but also that overt nonverbal behavior does not account for all learning differences. We discuss the impact of novelty, child expectations, and responses to social cues to further the understanding of the relationship between robot social behavior and learning. We suggest that the combination of nonverbal behavior and social cue congruency is necessary to facilitate learning

Εφαρμογή του γλωσσικού προγράμματος ΜΑΚΑΤΟΝ μέσω του ανθρωποειδούς ρομπότ ΝΑΟ για την αφήγηση παραμυθιού σε παιδιά προσχολικής ηλικίας με καθυστέρηση ομιλίας

Η αποτελεσματικότητα των κοινωνικών ρομπότ όπως το σύγχρονο ανθρωποειδές ρομπότ NAO στις παιδαγωγικές θεραπείες αποτελεί πρόκληση. Αξιοσημείωτη βιβλιογραφία επικεντρώνεται σε θεραπείες που χρησιμοποιούν ρομπότ με παιδιά στο φάσμα του αυτισμού τα τελευταία χρόνια. Με στήριγμα αυτές, και θέλοντας να διευρυνθούν τα πεδία εφαρμογής των κοινωνικών ρομπότ, επιλέχθηκε να σχεδιαστεί και να υλοποιηθεί ένα πρότυπο διδακτικό σενάριο. Απώτερος σκοπός είναι η παρούσα εργασία να μπορέσει να χρησιμοποιηθεί σαν βάση για μελλοντικές εμπειρίες χρήσεις ενός ρομπότ ΝΑΟ ως βοηθού σε μία λογοθεραπευτική και παιδαγωγική θεραπεία λαμβάνοντας υπόψιν παιδιά με διαφορετικές ανάγκες. Ειδικότερα, σκοπός της παρούσας έρευνας είναι να εξετάσει τη δυνατότητα χρήσης των ανθρωποειδών ρομπότ σε σενάρια ειδικής αγωγής και συγκεκριμένα για την αφήγηση παραμυθιού σε παιδιά προσχολικής ηλικίας με καθυστέρηση ομιλίας. Το ερευνητικό ερώτημα που τέθηκε είναι αν μπορεί το ανθρωποειδές ρομπότ ΝΑΟ να διδάξει νοήματα ΜΑΚΑΤΟΝ μέσω της αφήγησης ιστοριών σε παιδιά προσχολικής ηλικίας. Δεκατέσσερα νοήματα ΜΑΚΑΤΟΝ αναπτύχθηκαν μέσω ειδικού λογισμικού προγραμματισμού τα οποία εκτελεί το ρομπότ ταυτοχρόνως καθώς εξιστορεί την ιστορία. Η έρευνα λοιπόν αφήνει χώρο ανάπτυξης και των υπόλοιπων νοημάτων ΜΑΚΑΤΟΝ. Ένα ρομπότ σε συνεδρίες λογοθεραπείας μπορεί να διαδραματίσει θετικό ρόλο σε πολλές λογοπαιδικές πτυχές λειτουργώντας ως κίνητρο για τα παιδιά. Συμπερασματικά, το κοινωνικό ρομπότ αποδεικνύεται σημαντικό εργαλείο και η παρουσία αυτών σε εκπαιδευτικά σενάρια τυπικών ή μη πληθυσμών φαίνεται να βοηθάει αποτελεσματικά συγκεκριμένους τομείς ανάπτυξης.The effectiveness of social robots such as the modern humanoid robot NAO in pedagogical therapies is a challenge. Remarkable literature focuses on treatments using robots with children on the autism spectrum in recent years. With this support, and wanting to expand the scope of social robots, it was chosen to design and implement a standard teaching scenario. The ultimate goal is for the present work, to be used as a basis for future experiences of using a NAO robot as an assistant in a speech therapy and pedagogical treatment considering children with different needs. In particular, the purpose of this study is to examine the possibility of using humanoid robots in special education scenarios and specifically for storytelling in preschool children with speech delays. The research question that arose is whether the humanoid NAO robot can teach MAKATON signs throughout storytelling to preschool children. Fourteen MAKATON signs were developed through special programming software which the robot executes simultaneously as it tells the story. The research therefore leaves room for the development of the other signs of MAKATON. A robot in speech therapy sessions can play a positive role in many aspects of speech therapy by acting as a motivator for children. In conclusion, the social robot proves to be an important tool and their presence in educational scenarios of typical or non- typical populations seems to effectively help specific areas of development

Child–Robot Interaction in Education

Advances in the field of robotics in recent years have enabled the deployment of robots in a multitude of settings, and it is predicted that this will continue to increase, leading to a profound impact on society in the future. This thesis takes its starting point in educational robots; specifically the kind of robots that are designed to interact socially with children. Such robots are often modeled on humans, and made to express and/or perceive emotions, for the purpose of creating some social or emotional attachment in children. This thesis presents a research effort in which an empathic robotic tutor was developed and studied in a school setting, focusing on children’s interactions with the robot over time and across different educational scenarios. With support from the Responsible Research and Innovation Framework, this thesis furthermore sheds light on ethical dilemmas and the social desirability of implementing robots in future classrooms, seen from the eyes of teachers and students. The thesis concludes that children willingly follow instructions from a robotic tutor, and they may also develop a sense of connection with robots, treating them as social actors. However, children’s interactions with robots often break down in unconstrained classroom settings when expectations go unmet, making the potential gain of robots in education questionable. From an ethical perspective, there are many open questions regarding stakeholders’ concerns on matters of privacy, roles andresponsibility, as well as unintended consequences. These issues need to be dealt with when attempting to implement autonomous robots in education on a larger scale

Exploring, developing and evaluating in-car HMI to support appropriate use of automated cars

Commercial cars are increasingly equipped with automated functions to increase traffic safety and driver comfort. However, in order for these benefits to actually arise, it is crucial that the automation is used appropriately. This means that the automation should only be used in traffic situations and conditions that it was designed for (i.e. its Operational Design Domain or ODD). If the automation is used outside its ODD, traffic safety can be jeopardized. Alternatively, if it is not used within its ODD, potential benefits of the automation are lost. To be able to use the automation appropriately however, drivers need to have an accurate understanding of its functions, operation, capabilities and limitations. This research first explores how drivers are currently supported in understanding and appropriately using automated car functions. This is achieved through nation-wide surveys among car buyers and car sellers, and a review of the HMI (Human Machine Interface) in car currently available partially automated cars. Based on these results, an adaptive Digital In-Car Tutor is proposed to support driver’s understanding and appropriate use of car automation. An observation study among driving instructors is conducted to gain inspiration for such a Digital In-Car Tutor and investigate tutoring strategies in a real-world and driving related context. Finally, the results of all studies are used to design and evaluate an adaptive Digital In-car Tutor prototype. In conclusion, this thesis reveals that drivers are currently insufficiently supported in understanding and appropriately using partially automated cars. It is crucial that immediate and thorough measures are taken to avoid a negative impact on both traffic safety and the adoption of car automation. Our research further shows that a Digital In-car Tutor that is adaptive to the (complexity of the) driving situation positively affects appropriate automation use. While additional research is necessary with regards to the practical implementation, this research provides a solid base for the improvement of in-car driver support aimed at helping drivers to understand and appropriately use their car’s automation