By Faculty Mr. Tariq Saali
Robot Reading Companion in UAE
Dr. Néna Roa Seiler, School of Innovation, Design and Engineering (IDT), Mälardalen University
MSc. Tariq Saali, College of Education, American University in the Emirates (AUE)
The experiment is a part of the applied research of Agents as Companions. These empathetic technologies are perceived by users as entities having a level of intelligence and autonomy as well as social skills that allow them to establish and maintain long-term relationships with their owners. Companion Technologies is an emergent domain of research, there are endless possibilities in the human use of Companions particularly those based on emotional interaction [1].
Literacy skills are critical for everything, they represent the most important predictor of student success in primary school. In our experiment, we would like to redesign the English version of Reading Tutee Companion which support children in the Emirates to extend and improve their reading skills.
For our first project, we would like to use a human-centred Design (HCD) approach. This implies making several prototypes to be implemented and evaluated. Our first prototype should be made with EZ robot as in the previous experiment in the USA. EZ will be improved and implemented as a multimedia interactive platform which permits us to simulate the final product and test it. Children will be engaged in a face to face setting where they will teach the humanoid robot to read. After the first results a new prototype -a semi-automated platform- could be implemented with a more evolved robot as Nao Robot for a longer and more extended project.
Our project expects to have two types of publications: in education as possible support for teacher of young children and new possible development of Companions Technologies.
References
[1] Roa-Seïler, N., Craig, P. (2016). Empathetic Technology. In Tettegah S. and Noble S. (Eds.),
Emotions, Technology and Design. New York, NY: Elsevier. ISBN 978-0-12-801857-6.
