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Social Robots in Learning Experiences of Adults with Intellectual Disability: An Exploratory Study

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Human-Computer Interaction – INTERACT 2021 (INTERACT 2021)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNISA,volume 12932))

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Abstract

The use of social robots has the potential to improve learning experiences in life skills for adults with intellectual disabilities (ID). Current research in the context of social robots in education has largely focused on how children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) interact with social robots primarily without a tablet, with almost no research investigating how beneficial social robots can be in supporting learning for adults with IDs. This research explores how interactions with a social humanoid robot can contribute to learning for communities of adults with ID, and how adults with ID want to engage with these robots. This exploratory study involved observation and semi-structured interviews of eleven participants with ID (in three groups, supported by their support workers) receiving information from a semi-humanoid social robot and interacting with the robot via its tablet. Two robot applications were developed to deliver content based on the participating disability support organization’s life skills curriculum for healthy lifestyle choices and exercise, considering a variety of modalities (visual, embodied, audio). The study identified four ways in which participants interact, and our findings suggest that both the physical presence of the robot and the support of the tablet play a key role in engaging adults with ID. Observation of participant interactions both with the robot and with each other shows that part of the robot’s value in learning was as a facilitator of communication.

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Acknowledgements

This research is supported by the Australian Research Council under grant LP160100800, jointly with Endeavour Foundation. We acknowledge the time and dedication of our participants. Gavin Suddrey, Nicole Robinson and Belinda Ward of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Robotic Vision contributed to the development of the robot applications.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Science, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia

    Alicia Mitchell, Laurianne Sitbon & Saminda Sundeepa Balasuriya

  2. Endeavour Foundation, Brisbane, Australia

    Stewart Koplick & Chris Beaumont

Authors
  1. Alicia Mitchell
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  2. Laurianne Sitbon
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  3. Saminda Sundeepa Balasuriya
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  4. Stewart Koplick
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  5. Chris Beaumont
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Alicia Mitchell .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Electrical and Information Engineering, Polytechnic University of Bari, Bari, Italy

    Carmelo Ardito

  2. Computer Science Department, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy

    Rosa Lanzilotti

  3. Computer Science Department, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy

    Alessio Malizia

  4. Department of Computer Science, University of York, York, UK

    Helen Petrie

  5. Computer Science Department, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy

    Antonio Piccinno

  6. Computer Science Department, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy

    Giuseppe Desolda

  7. Microsoft Research, Redmond, WA, USA

    Kori Inkpen

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Mitchell, A., Sitbon, L., Balasuriya, S.S., Koplick, S., Beaumont, C. (2021). Social Robots in Learning Experiences of Adults with Intellectual Disability: An Exploratory Study. In: Ardito, C., et al. Human-Computer Interaction – INTERACT 2021. INTERACT 2021. Lecture Notes in Computer Science(), vol 12932. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-85623-6_17

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-85623-6_17

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