The Social Robots in Supported Work Environments (funded by QUT Centre for Justice) project explores the potential of social robots to support people with intellectual disabilities in employment (or employment-like e.g. volunteering, capacity building, training) environments.
The research team visits a variety of supported work employment sites including; Nursery. Café, Art Studio, Office Administration, Industry, Packing, E-Waste recycling, Retail opportunity shops, metal work and fabrication, to conduct observations and interviews with people with intellectual disabilities, support workers, and employers. The research focuses on the following areas:
How social robots can be used to capture and develop people’s competencies within a work context. - The role of social robots in supporting the participation and inclusion of people with intellectual disabilities in the workplace.
- The level of engagement of people in interaction networks with social robots.
- Respectful and inclusive approaches to include people of all abilities in the design of technologies they may use to communicate, engage socially, and learn together and from each other.
Extending this project in the future will help to ensure that social robots are designed and used in a way that is beneficial for people with intellectual disabilities. The research will also help to inform the development of guidelines for the respectful and inclusive deployment of social robots in supported work environments.