Related papers: Toward Anxiety-Reducing Pocket Robots for Children
Algorithmic thinking is a central concept in the context of computational thinking, and it is commonly taught by computer programming. A recent trend is to introduce basic programming concepts already very early on at primary school level.…
Due to real-world dynamics and hardware uncertainty, robots inevitably fail in task executions, resulting in undesired or even dangerous executions. In order to avoid failures and improve robot performance, it is critical to identify and…
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a chronic mental and behavioral disorder that interferes with everyday activities and has three core symptoms: inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity. To help in reducing the effects…
Dental anxiety is prevalent among children, often leading to missed treatment and potential negative effects on their mental well-being. While several interventions (e.g., pharmacological and psychotherapeutic techniques) have been…
With most recent estimates giving an incidence rate of 1 in 68 children in the United States, the autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a growing public health crisis. Many of these children struggle to make eye contact, recognize facial…
The paper presents the design of an assistive reading tool that integrates read-aloud technology with eye-tracking to regulate the speed of reading and support struggling readers in following the text while listening to it. The paper…
Artificial Intelligence (AI) chatbots powered by a large language model (LLM) are entering young children's learning and play, yet little is known about how young children construe these agents or how such construals relate to engagement.…
In robot-assisted therapy for individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder, the workload of therapists during a therapeutic session is increased if they have to control the robot manually. To allow therapists to focus on the interaction with…
To design social robots to effectively promote health behavior change, it is essential to understand how people respond to various health communication strategies employed by these robots. This study examines the effectiveness of two types…
This paper presents the design, development, methodology, and the results of a pilot study on using an intelligent, emotive and perceptive social robot (aka Companionbot) for improving the quality of life of elderly people with dementia…
This article describes the preliminary qualitative results of a therapeutic laboratory involving the Pepper robot, as a facilitator, to promote autonomy and functional acquisition in autistic children with low support needs (level 1…
Zoomorphic robots have the potential to offer companionship and well-being as accessible, low-maintenance alternatives to pet ownership. Many such robots, however, feature limited emotional expression, restricting their potential for rich…
Often robots are seen as a means to an end to fulfill a logical objective task. Android robots, on the other hand, provide new possibilities to fulfill emotional tasks and could therefore be integrated into assistive scenarios. We explored…
Text-writing robots have been used in assistive writing and drawing applications. However, robots do not convey emotional tones in the writing process due to the lack of behaviors humans typically adopt. To examine how people interpret…
This paper describes an experimental evaluation aimed at detecting the users' perception of the robot's empathic abilities during a conversation. The results have been then analyzed to search for a possible relationship between the…
Socialization is an essential development skill for preschool children. In collaboration with the LEGO Group, we developed Robert Robot, a simplified robot, which enables socialization between children and facilitates shared experiences…
College students with ADHD respond positively to simple socially assistive robots (SARs) that monitor attention and provide non-verbal feedback, but studies have been done only in brief in-lab sessions. We present an initial design and…
Mindfulness meditation has been proven to be effective in treating a range of mental and physical conditions. Mindful Art is a type of mindfulness meditation that comprises sessions of drawing, painting and sculpturing with mindfulness for…
Expressivity--the use of multiple modalities to convey internal state and intent of a robot--is critical for interaction. Yet, due to cost, safety, and other constraints, many robots lack high degrees of physical expressivity. This paper…
Resilience is a key factor affecting children's mental wellbeing and future development. Yet, limited HCI research has explored how to help children build resilience through adversarial experiences. Informed by a formative study with…