Maja J Mataric

Chris Birmingham, Zijian Hu, Kartik Mahajan et al.

Socially assistive robots have the potential to improve group dynamics when interacting with groups of people in social settings. This work contributes to the understanding of those dynamics through a user study of trust dynamics in the novel context of a robot mediated support group. For this study, a novel framework for robot mediation of a support group was developed and validated. To evaluate interpersonal trust in the multi-party setting, a dyadic trust scale was implemented and found to be uni-factorial, validating it as an appropriate measure of general trust. The results of this study demonstrate a significant increase in average interpersonal trust after the group interaction session, and qualitative post-session interview data report that participants found the interaction helpful and successfully supported and learned from one other. The results of the study validate that a robot-mediated support group can improve trust among strangers and allow them to share and receive support for their academic stress.

Roxanna Pakkar, Caitlyn Clabaugh, Rhianna Lee et al.

Socially assistive robotics (SAR) research has shown great potential for supplementing and augmenting therapy for children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). However, the vast majority of SAR research has been limited to short-term studies in highly controlled environments. The design and development of a SAR system capable of interacting autonomously {\it in situ} for long periods of time involves many engineering and computing challenges. This paper presents the design of a fully autonomous SAR system for long-term, in-home use with children with ASD. We address design decisions based on robustness and adaptability needs, discuss the development of the robot's character and interactions, and provide insights from the month-long, in-home data collections with children with ASD. This work contributes to a larger research program that is exploring how SAR can be used for enhancing the social and cognitive development of children with ASD.