Child-Robot Interaction

Child-Robot Interaction

Child-Robot Interaction

Child-Robot Interaction

Child-robot interaction is a burgeoning domain that centers on exploring the dynamic between children and robots. The primary focus of this field is to gain a profound understanding of children's thoughts, behaviors, and emotional responses when engaging with robots. By comprehending these aspects, researchers and designers aim to develop more effective and empathetic robots that can cater to the unique needs and preferences of young users. Ultimately, this pursuit seeks to create innovative and intuitive interactions between children and robots, enhancing learning experiences, playtime, and overall engagement while promoting positive and safe human-robot relationships in the future.

Child-robot interaction is a burgeoning domain that centers on exploring the dynamic between children and robots. The primary focus of this field is to gain a profound understanding of children's thoughts, behaviors, and emotional responses when engaging with robots. By comprehending these aspects, researchers and designers aim to develop more effective and empathetic robots that can cater to the unique needs and preferences of young users. Ultimately, this pursuit seeks to create innovative and intuitive interactions between children and robots, enhancing learning experiences, playtime, and overall engagement while promoting positive and safe human-robot relationships in the future.

Child-robot interaction is a burgeoning domain that centers on exploring the dynamic between children and robots. The primary focus of this field is to gain a profound understanding of children's thoughts, behaviors, and emotional responses when engaging with robots. By comprehending these aspects, researchers and designers aim to develop more effective and empathetic robots that can cater to the unique needs and preferences of young users. Ultimately, this pursuit seeks to create innovative and intuitive interactions between children and robots, enhancing learning experiences, playtime, and overall engagement while promoting positive and safe human-robot relationships in the future.

June 2023

RoboPlayground: A Workshop Adventure with Four Unique Robots for Primary School Children

RoboPlayground: A Workshop Adventure with Four Unique Robots for Primary School Children

RoboPlayground: A Workshop Adventure with Four Unique Robots for Primary School Children

We organized a series of engaging workshops for primary school children, comprising four two-hour sessions. These workshops featured an exciting lineup of robots, including Pepper, NAO, Misty, and Miro-E. Throughout the sessions, the children were exposed to a diverse range of activities aimed at fostering their learning and skills.


The activities were carefully curated to encompass various games that combined programming, verbal exercises, and motor challenges. The young participants, totaling around 80 children aged 7-9 years old, eagerly participated in all the activities, allowing them to experience each robot's unique features and capabilities.
In this manner, our workshops offered an enriching and fun-filled learning experience for the children, sparking their curiosity and fascination with robotics and technology.

The communication between robots and humans in the context of this project should be performed as if the robot would be another human being. This way we can advance the level of robots' understanding of human speech, especially in the context of a household or workplace service robot scenario. Imagine getting a new assistant robot. The first thing to do would be to tell it what it should do and perhaps how to do it, as well as share some additional details and nuances of its tasks. In the data collection phase the role of the robot is fulfilled by a human assistant.


The communication between robots and humans in the context of this project should be performed as if the robot would be another human being. This way we can advance the level of robots' understanding of human speech, especially in the context of a household or workplace service robot scenario. Imagine getting a new assistant robot. The first thing to do would be to tell it what it should do and perhaps how to do it, as well as share some additional details and nuances of its tasks. In the data collection phase the role of the robot is fulfilled by a human assistant.


March 2023

NaoTroupe Workshop: A Theatrical Journey with NAO for Primary School Children

NaoTroupe Workshop: A Theatrical Journey with NAO for Primary School Children

NaoTroupe Workshop: A Theatrical Journey with NAO for Primary School Children

We hosted an innovative theatrical workshop tailored for primary school children, with the main focus on introducing them to the fascinating world of robot programming while encouraging their valuable insights on technology. During this captivating experience, the children were given the exciting opportunity to program the NAO robot, orchestrating its actions to perform specific activities. Additionally, they actively participated in creating scenography and collaboratively acted alongside the robot in a spectacular theatrical play.
The workshop successfully engaged around 20 children, all between the ages of 7 and 8 years old. Through this immersive and interactive experience, the young participants not only learned about the fundamentals of programming but also gained a deeper understanding of technology's impact on our lives.

We conducted a study to see how the language of interaction influences a user's perception of a robot. The reason for conducting this study was to determine the most suitable language for the Human-Robot Interaction (HRI) research when the international team is involved. We enlisted the participation of twenty-three individuals who were native Czech speakers and fluent in English. The task was to teach the Pepper robot where to place objects on a shelf. The robot was controlled remotely using the Wizard-of-Oz technique. We collected both objective observations of the participants' behavior during the interactions and their own subjective opinions provided through questionnaires, including the popular Godspeed questionnaire. Additionally, we incorporated a feedback session on participation in the experiment to follow the user-center design idea.

We conducted a study to see how the language of interaction influences a user's perception of a robot. The reason for conducting this study was to determine the most suitable language for the Human-Robot Interaction (HRI) research when the international team is involved. We enlisted the participation of twenty-three individuals who were native Czech speakers and fluent in English. The task was to teach the Pepper robot where to place objects on a shelf. The robot was controlled remotely using the Wizard-of-Oz technique. We collected both objective observations of the participants' behavior during the interactions and their own subjective opinions provided through questionnaires, including the popular Godspeed questionnaire. Additionally, we incorporated a feedback session on participation in the experiment to follow the user-center design idea.

November 2022

Active Reading with Anna & NAO pt 2: A Reading Workshop for Primary School Children

Active Reading with Anna & NAO pt 2: A Reading Workshop for Primary School Children

Active Reading with Anna & NAO pt 2: A Reading Workshop for Primary School Children

We conducted an Active Reading workshop for primary school children, aiming to enhance their learning experience through engaging activities. The core idea of active reading was to encourage children to better grasp the story by integrating manual and motor activities, such as crafting or dancing, in between different parts of the narrative.
During the second iteration of the Active Reading workshop, [number] primary school children aged 7-12 years had the wonderful opportunity to enjoy the NAO robot reading the story aloud, alongside a human facilitator. The children actively interacted with the robot, asking questions, witnessing its delightful tricks, and immersing themselves in crafting and motor activities.
The workshop provided a dynamic and enriching experience, stimulating the children's imagination and fostering their interest in both reading and robotics.

Papers based on data from this workshop:
A. Wróbel,   K. Źróbek, M-M. Schaper,  P. Zguda, and B. Indurkhya (2023) Age-Appropriate Robot Design: In-The-Wild Child-Robot Interaction Studies of Perseverance Styles and Robot’s Unexpected Behavior,. To appear in Proceedings of The IEEE International Conference on Robot & Human Interactive Communication (Ro-Man 2023), Aug. 28-31, Busan, S. Korea.

April 2022

Active Reading with Anna & NAO pt 1: A Reading Workshop for Children in MOCAK Museum

Active Reading with Anna & NAO pt 1: A Reading Workshop for Children in MOCAK Museum

Active Reading with Anna & NAO pt 1: A Reading Workshop for Children in MOCAK Museum

Our inaugural Active Reading workshop took place at the MOCAK Museum of Contemporary Art in Kraków. The main concept behind active reading is to enhance children's comprehension of the story by integrating manual and motor activities, such as crafting or dancing, in between its parts.
In this first iteration of the workshop, we engaged [number] children, aged 6-12 years old, who were captivated as the NAO robot read the story aloud alongside a human facilitator. Throughout the session, children interacted with the robot, asking questions, observing its playful tricks, and enjoying crafting and motor activities, including charades and drawing.

Papers based on data from this workshop:
A. Wróbel,   K. Źróbek, M-M. Schaper,  P. Zguda, and B. Indurkhya (2023) Age-Appropriate Robot Design: In-The-Wild Child-Robot Interaction Studies of Perseverance Styles and Robot’s Unexpected Behavior,. To appear in Proceedings of The IEEE International Conference on Robot & Human Interactive Communication (Ro-Man 2023), Aug. 28-31, Busan, S. Korea.
Wróbel, A., Źróbek, K., Indurkhya, B., Schaper, M. M., Gunia, A., & Zguda, P. M. (2023, April). Are robots vegan? Unexpected behaviours in child-robot interactions and their design implications. In Extended Abstracts of the 2023 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (pp. 1-7).

April 2022

Interactive Workshop for Kindergarden Children in Kraków, Poland

Interactive Workshop for Kindergarden Children in Kraków, Poland

Interactive Workshop for Kindergarden Children in Kraków, Poland

This workshop marked the first research activity of the Social Robotics Lab in Kraków, Poland. The primary objective was to observe interactions between preschool children and a robot in a natural environment, specifically within a classroom setting, while studying the effectiveness of in-the-wild methodologies in Child-Robot Interaction (CRI).
During the workshop, 105 children aged 4-7 years had the opportunity to engage with the robot Pepper. Various verbal and motor activities, including storytelling and dancing, were incorporated into the sessions, allowing the children to interact and play with the robot.

Papers based on data from this workshop:
Zguda, P., Kołota, A., Venture, G., Sniezynski, B., & Indurkhya, B. (2021). Exploring the role of trust and expectations in CRI using in-the-wild studies. Electronics, 10(3), 347.

January 2017

Interactive Workshop for Kindergarden Children in Tokyo, Japan

Interactive Workshop for Kindergarden Children in Tokyo, Japan

Interactive Workshop for Kindergarden Children in Tokyo, Japan

This workshop marked the first research activity of the Social Robotics Lab in Tokyo, Japan. The primary objective was to observe interactions between preschool children and a robot in a natural environment, specifically within a classroom setting, while studying the effectiveness of in-the-wild methodologies in Child-Robot Interaction (CRI).
During the workshop, 39 children aged 4-6 years had the opportunity to engage with the robot Pepper. Various verbal and motor activities, including storytelling and dancing, were incorporated into the sessions, allowing the children to interact and play with the robot.

Papers based on data from this workshop:
Zguda, P., Kołota, A., Venture, G., Sniezynski, B., & Indurkhya, B. (2021). Exploring the role of trust and expectations in CRI using in-the-wild studies. Electronics, 10(3), 347.

Social Robotics Lab

We explore Human-Robot Interaction in natural social settings.

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© 2023, Social Robotics Laboratory

Social Robotics Lab

We explore Human-Robot Interaction in natural social settings.

Jagiellonian University

ul. Ingardena 3, room 304B

30-060 Kraków

Poland

© 2023, Social Robotics Laboratory