This project investigates the use of social robots to create inclusive classrooms. Contrary to other interactive technologies, robots act in the environment; namely, they can move in space, which opens novel interactive opportunities for the classroom. Moreover, due to their feedback capabilities and inherently engaging nature, they have the potential to create truly inclusive environments where mix-visual abilities children share the same technology.

Project Details

Title: Social Robots in Inclusive Classrooms

Date: Jan 30, 2021

Authors: Isabel Neto, Ana Paiva, Wafa Johal, Hugo Nicolau

Keywords: inclusion, robots, classroom

Related Publications

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  • "I’m Not Touching You. It’s The Robot!": Inclusion Through A Touch-Based Robot Among Mixed-Visual Ability Children Honorable Mention
  • Isabel Neto, Yuhan Hu, Filipa Correia, et al. 2024. "I’m Not Touching You. It’s The Robot!": Inclusion Through A Touch-Based Robot Among Mixed-Visual Ability Children. Proceedings of the 2024 ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction, Association for Computing Machinery, 511–521. http://doi.org/10.1145/3610977.3634992
  • [ABSTRACT] [PDF] [LIBRARY]

  Children with visual impairments often struggle to fully participate in group activities due to limited access to visual cues. They have difficulty perceiving what is happening, when, and how to act-leading to children with and without visual impairments being frustrated with the group activity, reducing mutual interactions. To address this, we created Touchibo, a tactile storyteller robot acting in a multisensory setting, encouraging touch-based interactions. Touchibo provides an inclusive space for group interaction as touch is a highly accessible modality in a mixed-visual ability context. In a study involving 107 children (37 with visual impairments), we compared Touchibo to an audio-only storyteller. Results indicate that Touchibo significantly improved children’s individual and group participation perception, sparking touch-based interactions and the storyteller was more likable and helpful. Our study highlights touch-based robots’ potential to enrich children’s social interactions by prompting interpersonal touch, particularly in mixed-visual ability settings.
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  • Conveying Emotions through Shape-changing to Children with and without Visual Impairment
  • Isabel Neto, Yuhan Hu, Filipa Correia, et al. 2024. Conveying Emotions through Shape-changing to Children with and without Visual Impairment. Proceedings of the CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, Association for Computing Machinery. http://doi.org/10.1145/3613904.3642525
  • [ABSTRACT] [PDF] [LIBRARY]

  Shape-changing skin is an exciting modality due to its accessible and engaging nature. Its softness and flexibility make it adaptable to different interactive devices that children with and without visual impairments can share. Although their potential as an emotionally expressive medium has been shown for sighted adults, their potential as an inclusive modality remains unexplored. This work explores the shape-emotional mappings in children with and without visual impairment. We conducted a user study with 50 children (26 with visual impairment) to investigate their emotional associations with five skin shapes and two movement conditions. Results show that shape-emotional mappings are dependent on visual abilities. Our study raises awareness of the influence of visual experiences on tactile vocabulary and emotional mapping among sighted, low-vision, and blind children. We finish discussing the causal associations between tactile stimuli and emotions and suggest inclusive design recommendations for shape-changing devices.
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  • "The Robot Made Us Hear Each Other": Fostering Inclusive Conversations among Mixed-Visual Ability Children Honorable Mention
  • Isabel Neto, Filipa Correia, Filipa Rocha, Patricia Piedade, Ana Paiva, and Hugo Nicolau. 2023. "The Robot Made Us Hear Each Other": Fostering Inclusive Conversations among Mixed-Visual Ability Children. Proceedings of the 2023 ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction, ACM. http://doi.org/10.1145/3568162.3576997
  • [ABSTRACT] [PDF] [LIBRARY]

  Inclusion is key in group work and collaborative learning. We devel- oped a mediator robot to support and promote inclusion in group conversations, particularly in groups composed of children with and without visual impairment. We investigate the effect of two mediation strategies on group dynamics, inclusion, and perception of the robot. We conducted a within-subjects study with 78 children, 26 experienced visual impairments, in a decision-making activity. Results indicate that the robot can foster inclusion in mixed-visual ability group conversations. The robot succeeds in balancing par- ticipation, particularly when using a highly intervening mediating strategy (directive strategy). However, children feel more heard by their peers when the robot is less intervening (organic strategy). We extend prior work on social robots to assist group work and contribute with a mediator robot that enables children with visual impairments to engage equally in group conversations. We finish by discussing design implications for inclusive social robots.
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  • Inclusive’R’Stories: An Inclusive Storytelling Activity with an Emotional Robot
  • Cristiana Antunes, Isabel Neto, Filipa Correia, Ana Paiva, and Hugo Nicolau. 2022. Inclusive’R’Stories: An Inclusive Storytelling Activity with an Emotional Robot. Proceedings of the 2022 ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction, IEEE Press, 90–100. http://doi.org/10.1109/HRI53351.2022.9889502
  • [ABSTRACT] [PDF] [LIBRARY]

  Storytelling has the potential to be an inclusive and collaborative activity. However, it is unclear how interactive storytelling systems can support such activities, particularly when considering mixed-visual ability children. In this paper, we present an interactive multisensory storytelling system and explore the extent to which an emotional robot can be used to support inclusive experiences. We investigate the effect of the robot’s emotional behavior on the joint storytelling process, resulting narratives, and collaboration dynamics. Results show that when children co-create stories with a robot that exhibits emotional behaviors, they include more emotive elements in their stories and explicitly accept more ideas from their peers. We contribute with a multisensory environment that enables children with visual impairments to engage in joint storytelling activities with their peers and analyze the effect of a robot’s emotional behaviors on an inclusive storytelling experience.
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  • Touchibo: Multimodal Texture-Changing Robotic Platform for Shared Human Experiences
  • Yuhan Hu, Isabel Neto, Jin Ryu, et al. 2022. Touchibo: Multimodal Texture-Changing Robotic Platform for Shared Human Experiences. Adjunct Proceedings of the 35th Annual ACM Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology, Association for Computing Machinery. http://doi.org/10.1145/3526114.3558643
  • [ABSTRACT] [PDF] [LIBRARY]

  Touchibo is a modular robotic platform for enriching interpersonal communication in human-robot group activities, suitable for children with mixed visual abilities. Touchibo incorporates several modalities, including dynamic textures, scent, audio, and light. Two prototypes are demonstrated for supporting storytelling activities and mediating group conversations between children with and without visual impairment. Our goal is to provide an inclusive platform for children to interact with each other, perceive their emotions, and become more aware of how they impact others.
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  • Community Based Robot Design for Classrooms with Mixed Visual Abilities Children
  • Isabel Neto, Hugo Nicolau, and Ana Paiva. 2021. Community Based Robot Design for Classrooms with Mixed Visual Abilities Children. In Proceedings of the 2021 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. Association for Computing Machinery, New York, NY, USA. http://doi.org/10.1145/3411764.3445135
  • [ABSTRACT] [PDF] [LIBRARY]

  Visually impaired children (VI) face challenges in collaborative learning in classrooms. Robots have the potential to support inclusive classroom experiences by leveraging their physicality, bespoke social behaviors, sensors, and multimodal feedback. However, the design of social robots for mixed-visual abilities classrooms remains mostly unexplored. This paper presents a four-month-long community-based design process where we engaged with a school community. We provide insights into the barriers experienced by children and how social robots can address them. We also report on a participatory design activity with mixed-visual abilities children, highlighting the expected roles, attitudes, and physical characteristics of robots. Findings contextualize social robots within inclusive classroom settings as a holistic solution that can interact anywhere when needed and suggest a broader view of inclusion beyond disability. These include children’s personality traits, technology access, and mastery of school subjects. We finish by providing reflections on the community-based design process.
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  • Fostering Inclusive Activities in Mixed-Visual Abilities Classrooms Using Social Robots
  • Isabel Neto, Hugo Nicolau, and Ana Paiva. 2021. Fostering Inclusive Activities in Mixed-Visual Abilities Classrooms Using Social Robots. Companion of the 2021 ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction, Association for Computing Machinery, 571–573. http://doi.org/10.1145/3434074.3446356
  • [ABSTRACT] [PDF] [LIBRARY]

  Visually impaired children are increasingly educated in mainstream schools following an inclusive educational approach. However, even though visually impaired (VI) and sighted peers are side by side in the classroom, previous research showed a lack of participation of VI children in classroom dynamics and group activities. That leads to a reduced engagement between VI children and their sighted peers and a missed opportunity to value and explore class members’ differences. Robots due to their physicality, and ability to perceive the world, socially-behave and act in a wide range of interactive modalities, can leverage mixed-visual ability children access to group activities while fostering their mutual understanding and social engagement. With this work, we aim to use social robots, as facilitators, to booster inclusive activities in mixed-visual abilities classroom.
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  • Using Tabletop Robots to Promote Inclusive Classroom Experiences
  • Isabel Neto, Wafa Johal, Marta Couto, Hugo Nicolau, Ana Paiva, and Arzu Guneysu. 2020. Using Tabletop Robots to Promote Inclusive Classroom Experiences. Proceedings of the Interaction Design and Children Conference, Association for Computing Machinery, 281–292. http://doi.org/10.1145/3392063.3394439
  • [ABSTRACT] [PDF] [LIBRARY]

  Geometry and handwriting rely heavily on the visual representation of basic shapes. It can become challenging for students with visual impairments to perceive these shapes and understand complex spatial constructs. For instance, knowing how to draw is highly dependent on spatial and temporal components, which are often inaccessible to children with visual impairments. Hand-held robots, such as the Cellulo robots, open unique opportunities to teach drawing and writing through haptic feedback. In this paper, we investigate how these tangible robots could support inclusive, collaborative learning activities, particularly for children with visual impairments. We conducted a user study with 20 pupils with and without visual impairments, where they engaged in multiple drawing activities with tangible robots. We contribute novel insights on the design of children-robot interaction, learning shapes and letters, children engagement, and responses in a collaborative scenario that address the challenges of inclusive learning.
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  • Exploring the Challenges and Opportunities for Inclusive Social Robots in Classroom Activities through Participatory Design Activities
  • Isabel Neto, Hugo Nicolau, and Ana Paiva. 2020. Exploring the Challenges and Opportunities for Inclusive Social Robots in Classroom Activities through Participatory Design Activities. Workshop on Planning the World’s Most Inclusive PD ProjectProceedings at Interaction Design and Children Conference.
  • [ABSTRACT] [PDF]

  Inclusion of vulnerable people in society is essential to grant human rights and equal opportunities for all. Our research goal is to mitigate the disparities in education and ensure access to all children, including pupils having a special educational need and disability (SEND) and promote inclusion among students using social robots. Inclusion in schools has different dimensions to be considered, namely: identification of exclusion reasons and behaviours, accessibility to school activities, and promotion of diverse and inclusive culture among children. Our approach to this challenge was a 6-month long community engagement effort with a local school community to get insights into different stakeholders: children with and without disabilities (Visual Impairment and Autism), parents, teachers and several therapists, such as: braille, speech and occupational therapy, psychologists, mobility and navigation. We then conducted a participatory design session to build robots, during lectures, with 50 children with mixed abilities. We contribute novel insights on the design of robots for mixed abilities groups of children, in remote and co-located settings and the challenges and opportunities for an inclusive school raised by the school community.