Title: Inclusive Robotics
Speaker: Isabel Neto (LASIGE, FCUL)
Date: April 30, 2025, 14h00
Where: Ciências ULisboa, 6.3.27

Abstract:
Children with different abilities (either impairments or skills) are included in mainstream schools as an inclusive education practice. However, even though they are side-by-side with their peers, they face classroom participation issues, a lack of collaborative learning, reduced social engagement, and a high risk for isolation. Robots have the potential to act as intelligent and accessible social agents that actively promote inclusive classroom experiences by leveraging their physicality, bespoke social behaviours, sensors, and multimodal feedback. However, the design of social robots for mixed-abilities schools remains mostly unexplored. In the presentation, we will share our research on exploring robot multimodal feedback such as movement, speech, and textures to foster inclusion in group activities between mixed-abilities children. We will also share our findings on how robot ostracism can affect children’s basic needs and prosocial behaviours.

Short Bio: 
I concluded my Computer Science PhD in March 2024 at IST – Technical Institute, University of Lisbon. My research falls within the domain of Computer Science and Engineering, and I am an Assistant Professor at the University of Lisbon, Faculty of Science.
My research focuses on the development of social agents aimed at fostering inclusion within educational settings, particularly in schools. To achieve this, we investigate how different modalities and robot roles influence interactions among children with and without impairments.