How to train your DragonBot: Socially assistive robots for teaching children about nutrition through play

Short, Elaine; Swift-Spong, Katelyn; Greczek, Jillian; Ramachandran, Aditi; Litoiu, Alexandru; Grigore, Elena Corina; Feil-Seifer, David; Shuster, Samuel; Lee, Jin Joo; Huang, Shaobo; Levonisova, Svetlana; Litz, Sarah; Li, Jamy; Ragusa, Gisele; Spruijt-Metz, Donna; Mataric, Maja; Scassellati, Brian

Abstract

This paper describes an extended (6-session) interaction between an ethnically and geographically diverse group of 26 first-grade children and the DragonBot robot in the context of learning about healthy food choices. We find that children demonstrate a high level of enjoyment when interacting with the robot, and a statistically significant increase in engagement with the system over the duration of the interaction. We also find evidence of relationship-building between the child and robot, and encouraging trends towards child learning. These results are promising for the use of socially assistive robotic technologies for long-term one-on-one educational interventions for younger children.

Citation

Short, E., Swift-Spong, K., Greczek, J., Ramachandran, A., Litoiu, A., Grigore, E. C., Feil-Seifer, D., Shuster, S., Lee, J. J., Huang, S., Levonisova, S., Litz, S., Li, J., Ragusa, G., Spruijt-Metz, D., Mataric, M., & Scassellati, B. (2014, August). How to train your DragonBot: Socially assistive robots for teaching children about nutrition through play. Presented at The 23rd IEEE International Symposium on Robot and Human Interactive Communication, Edinburgh, UK

• Presentation Conference Type: Conference Paper (published)
• Conference Name: The 23rd IEEE International Symposium on Robot and Human Interactive Communication
• Start Date: Aug 25, 2014
• End Date: Aug 29, 2014
• Online Publication Date: Oct 20, 2014
• Publication Date: 2014
• Deposit Date: May 7, 2024
• Publisher: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Pages: 924-929
• Series ISSN: 1944-9445
• Book Title: The 23rd IEEE International Symposium on Robot and Human Interactive Communication
• ISBN: 9781479967650
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/ROMAN.2014.6926371
• Keywords: Robots, Pediatrics, Time factors, Speech, Educational institutions, Time measurement