A research project on social robotics as therapy tools for children on the Autism spectrum.

Since the idea of robots has been imagined, there has been the debate on social robotics. In present times, social robotics has shown great promise in the realm of therapy. Their use with children on the autism spectrum adds an additional level of complexity to this topic: what happens when we use robots to teach humans? The debate on this matter was explored on this project. Our project site allows you go back and immerse yourself in the journey we took, including blog entries, tweets, final reports, and interview transcripts.

"I'm not afraid of machines, I'm not afraid of the computer, I don't think robots are taking over. I think the men who play with the toys have taken over."
                                                              - Ray Bradbury

My Role

 Along with shared team roles, such as researching, writing and editing the research report, and creating presentations and deliverables, my designated roles on this project included:

Lead Interviewer: Contacted specialists in the field, coordinated interview sessions, transcribed interviews, and conducted the interview with Dr. Elin Björling.

Co-Presenter: Concisely presented our project and the main takeaways from our research to a room of about a hundred peers and superiors.

Social Media Presence: Created and ran the team Twitter page, which documented some of the thoughts our team had (through a comedic lens, of course).

Future Implications: Specifically researched what the future of social robotics looks like as therapeutic tools for children on the autism spectrum.

Interviewing Dr. Elin Björling

Dr. Elin Björling is faculty member at University of Washington Tacoma where she co-leads Project EMAR with Dr. Emma Rose. As stated on their page, the project incorporates "faculty and students on both the Tacoma and Seattle campuses of the University of Washington to develop a robot that will measure moods and stress in teens". I got the privilege to interview Dr. Björling and ask her not only about her work, but also her thoughts on social robotics, specifically their use in therapy. A transcript of my interview with her can be found here.