SOCIAL ROBOTICS

The field of Robotics is growing, with more applications being found in various areas of daily life. The dictionary defines robotics as,the use of computer-controlled robots to perform manual tasks, especially on an assembly line.

Engineering and Robotics studies are being added to various school curriculums on an ongoing basis and are popular electives. Many schools in various countries incorporate local, regional and state competitions in their coursework to allow students to work together as a team on the design, building, and testing of a robot. They also frequently work with a local company who sponsors the school team and provides expert advice [1].

Given the highly interdisciplinary nature of robotics, not surprisingly, educational robotics includes a wide variety of subjects as well as methodological and design approaches. Depending on the specific research interests and up-to-date technology, there is a number of different classifications of robotic platforms and educational robotics domains. In general, educational robotics can be divided into "Learning about Robots" and "Learning with Robots" (or "robotics in education" and "robotics for education". The former concerns technical, robotics-oriented education, while the latter implies teaching different non-technical subjects through robotics. Teaching about robots aims to bring engineering and IT concepts into schools and it is the most common application for robots in education (sometimes seen as synonymous with Educational Robotics) [3].

RoboSTEP is an innovative computer science courseware that uses action-driven humanoid robots, programmable avatars and animation to teach real world cognitive and reasoning skills, and scientific concepts and applications. This full year high school computer science and programming course is delivered via eBooks and provides each student with their own avatar to program in Java. Students are delighted to control an actual expressive interactive humanoid robot. RoboSteps is an easy add-on to enhance or extend existing computer science coursework, and also provides ideal learning opportunities for a robotics club or computer science competition [2].

Teachers appreciate the comprehensive instructional guides that provide detailed  lesson plans with directed learning activities. These inquiry-based and project-based assignments for individual, team and class participation create high level excitement and fun for students and teachers alike. The course is designed to promote cooperative learning and problem solving with all levels of students from their very first lesson.

The design, construction, operation, and application of robots involves the study of various forms of engineering (mechanical and electronic), applied physics, as well as computer science. Technological advances have led to the development of robots not only for businesses, but also for public service and military use. For example, robots can assist with hazardous jobs such as bomb and mine diffusion.

Robots are used for comprehensive autism.Robots4Autism is a comprehensive autism intervention program that features purpose-built humanoid robots to deliver developmental instruction modules for emotional and social behaviors [6]. It creates high-level engagement between the student and the robot and allows students to progress at their own speed with lesson repetition. Valuable real time data of student participation, time on task, eye contact and progress is reported which is not easily collected by staff without using the camera and software technology of the robot [8].

Given the financial constraints facing schools today, Robots4Autism is the first affordable humanoid robot built for autism intervention.

Unparalleled human like expressions, gestural bodies and eyes, face tracking, and conversational artificial intelligence. Programmed to deliver innovative research-based curriculum to teach social understanding. Consistent lesson delivery with ability to redirect and keep children learning Nonthreatening interaction improves the child’s ability to learn and practice social behaviors in natural contexts. Quick and high level engagement between the student and the robot. Students learn at their pace with lesson repetition. Real time data of student participation (time on task, eye contact, progress) [5].

RoboKind is the world leader in humanoid social robotics. The scientists design and build robots with advanced capabilities that enable people to engage with robots personally and socially.

Advanced social robots are purpose-built for autism intervention, special education and university research [7]. The scientists can deliver full courseware and therapies created by subject matter experts, and include appropriate interaction for both verbal and non-verbal learners.

Robots with high-level artificial intelligence (have conversations, measure interest, learning and frustration, deliver education, determine when to re-engage and respond to facial expressions and gestures).

Robots can assess the emotional and interest levels of the participants through facial recognition and adjust the lesson to continue learning.

Data capture and video recording of sessions assists teachers, facilitators and parents in viewing progress and planning future learning activities.

Robots4Seniors is an innovative new program that provides meaningful life-enrichment activities that blend fun and therapy. Developed by top experts in aging from the Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health, Robots4Seniors is an excellent complement to existing activities programs and therapy services. Milo, an expressive, humanoid robot, guides seniors through activities ranging from brain games and exercises to singing and reading [4].

Foreign Language Development.

Early introduction of foreign languages provides children –in ages 3- 7 with the ability to acquire the language earlier and more fluently through the expressive interactions with the robot and tablet. It provides a personalized language instructor who can read to the child, ask questions, and react to pronunciations of words. Classroom programs for schools will be available in Chinese, French, Spanish and English as a second language.

A robot - tablet reading program that is designed to provide a unique personalized used by parents and teachers. Used for early acquisition of prerequisite vocabulary and reading skills, the program provides the readiness language skills to accelerate reading readiness and achievement [9].

Nurturing young minds has been one of the fundamental pillars of society since ages past. It is expedient to capitalize on the potential of interactive robots for education purposes. An interactive edutainment robot will provide new and valuable tools for teachers in both classroom-based learning and excursions. The near limitless information that can be contained within a robot will complement the teacher's knowledge base. In addition to providing detailed and specific information on current topics, the robot can contribute to the educational process through motivating children to learn and inspiring creativity. We seek to bring cutting edge robotic technology into the classroom, further inspiring children in their own designs and motivating them to perform [10]. Capturing and holding the attention of young children has always been the major challenge in education. Robots have always fascinated the young and old, with interactive and humanistic robots as the main subject of much popular science fiction. By encouraging children's curiosity and fascination with robots, interactive edutainment robots can facilitate the teaching process through capturing and holding young children’s attention.

List of references

1.     Corbett, A. 2001. Cognitive computer tutors: Solving the two-sigma problem. InUserModeling 2001. Springer. 137— 147.

2.     Feil-Seifer, D. J. 2011. Data-Driven Interaction Methods for Socially Assistive Robotics: Validation With Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders. Ph.D. Dissertation, UniversityofSouthernCalifornia.

3.     Greczek, J.; Kaszubski, E.; Atrash, A.; and Mataric, M. 2014. Graded cueing feedback in robot-mediated imitation practice for children with autism spectrum disorders. In Proceedings of the 23rd IEEE Symposium on Robot and Human Interaction Communication (RO-MAN '14), to appear. IEEE Press.

4.     Han, J., and Kim, D. 2009. r-learning services for elementary school students with a teaching assistant robot. In Human-Robot Interaction (HRI), 2009 4th ACM/IEEE International Conference on, 255-256. IEEE.

5.     Hasazi, S. B.; Johnston, A.; Liggett, A. M.; and Schattman, R. A. 1994. A qualitative policy study of the least restrictive environment provision of the individuals with disabilities education act. ExceptionalChildren.

6.     Hickey, D. T. 1997. Motivation and contemporary socio-constructivist instructional perspectives. EducationalPsychologist 32(3):175-193.

7.     Isbister, K., and Nass, C. 2000. Consistency of personality in interactive characters: verbal cues, non-verbal cues, and user characteristics. InternationalJournalofHuman-ComputerStudies 53(2):251-267.

8.     Leyzberg, D.; Spaulding, S.; and Scassellati, B. 2014. Personalizing robot tutors to individuals' learning differences. In Proceedings of the 2014 ACM/IEEE international conference on Human-robot interaction, 423-430. ACM.

9.     Schiaffino, S.; Garcia, P.; and Amandi, A. 2008. eteacher: Providing personalized assistance to e-learning students. Computers&Education 51(4):1744-1754.

10. Short, E.; Swift-Spong, K.; Greczek, J.; Ramachandran, A.; Litoiu, A.; Grigore, E. C.; Feil-Seifer, D.; Shuster, S.; Lee, J. J.; Huang, S.; et al. 2014. How to train your dragonbot: Socially assistive robots for teaching children about nutrition through play. In Proceedings of the 23rd IEEE Symposium on Robot and Human Interactive Communication (ROMAN '14), to appear. IEEE Press.