From a “simple” interactive toy that teaches children the basics of programming, the Dash robot becomes a real moderator capable of ensuring balanced conversations between visually impaired and sighted children.
Cataracts can happen even under the age of 50
by Angela Nanni
This metamorphosis was accomplished by a group of researchers from the Interactive Technologies Institute and the University of Lisbon, in a work presented during the international conference dedicated to human-robot interactions, organized by the Association for Computing Machinery/Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (Acm/Ieee), which was recently held in Stockholm.
Children with and without disabilities
Children with visual impairments tend to participate less in group discussions due to the lack of accessible technologies that adapt to their needs and those of children without disabilities. “Most accessible technologies are developed to be used only by children with disabilities, which excludes them from many classroom activities,” he explains Isabel Netoresearcher and PhD candidate at the Instituto Superior Técnico of the University of Lisbon.
The Hugo robot enters the operating room: first time in Europe for gynecological surgery
by Claudia Carucci
“Also, visually impaired children have more difficulty perceiving conversation and related nonverbal cues,” she adds.
What to do if the child is cross-eyed
by Elena Bozzola
Dash as a mediator of group conversations
To solve this problem, the researchers adapted Dash to be able to mediate group discussions among children with mixed visual abilities. The robot moves among the children, stopping in front of the speaker and recording the times of each intervention. The robot changes position and goes towards the child who spoke the least in the group to encourage him to intervene. Dash also uses bright and colored LEDs and verbal expressions to communicate the involvement of the conversation or encourage participation.
“Space for Children”, flesh-and-blood actors in the videogame commissioned by ESA to save children’s dreams
by Claudia Carucci
“The robot’s behaviors were created through the development of software, specifically designed to be used by children with mixed abilities,” explains Neto. “His behaviors are perceived by any child, regardless of their visual ability.” The work of scientists has shown that Dash is indeed able to reduce the discrepancies between the number of participants with and without visual impairments. The team achieved these results using what they termed a ‘directive strategy’.
Eye drops, alarm in the US for deaths and loss of vision from Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections
by Irma D’Aria
A robot that encourages children to talk
In this case the robot approaches the less involved child, encouraging him to speak. “Although it did not completely eliminate the discrepancies, the robot reduced this irregularity and – underlines the researcher – for this reason it is a small but promising step towards a more equal participation of all children in classroom activities”.
Glaucoma, one out of two patients doesn’t know they have it. How to do prevention
by Naomi Penna
In the future, the research team of the Interactive Technologies Institute will refine the “directive strategy” to make it more organic and natural. “We also want to expand our audience and explore how we might use a robot on other mixed-ability groups, such as children with autism spectrum disorders,” Neto reveals.
The researchers hope their findings will help improve group dynamics in schools, workplaces and homes.