Since 2019, we have presented a range of social robots to our research participants and collaborators with intellectual disability, as part of research conducted in our Inclusive Technologies group (in the QUT School of Computer Science) and in Inclusive Robotics within the Human Interaction Program of the QUT Centre for Robotics.
The joy that the robots always bring to our participants cannot be understated. Our early works focused on educational settings, and in 2023 we ran some pilots in the workplace and in museums. In 2023, we also conducted co-design activities to encourage people to show us how social robots could make a difference in their lives through interacting with the robots, coding applications, and drawing with generative AI tools.
Pepper is a humanoid robot that can recognise people and follow them with eye-gaze, and that can display visuals on a tablet located on its chest. Pepper has potential to change people’s lives in all environments, by providing support as a side-kick for increased confidence, providing repeated instruction, or simply engaging people in learning activities.
