In the SIRRL lab at University of Waterloo, Furhat robots have been used in an outreach activity to help teachers in a school to deliver online French classes for some students ranging between 10 to 14 years old. In other, future projects, we will study how a social robot such as Furhat can be used to support students’ mental well-being. Other future research will explore the use of Furhats in drama-based interventions that aim to foster anti-bullying peer support.
The flexibility and ability of the Furhat platform to change on the fly to different characters, personality, voices, languages and emotions allow an engaging and enjoyable experience in human-robot interaction. Moreover, the easy use of the SDK allows non-IT experts to enjoy and contribute to the platform.
The Social and Intelligent Robotics Research Laboratory, led by Professor Kerstin Dautenhahn, focuses on the fields of social robotics, human-robot interaction, cognitive and developmental robotics and embodied artificial intelligence. We investigate fundamental principles and mechanisms that can make robots more socially intelligent, as well as enabling them to interact with people in a trustworthy and efficient but also “natural” and socially acceptable manner, e.g. in roles of co-workers, assistants or companions. The goal of our research is to advance knowledge in social and intelligent robotics and to develop robots that can make a positive contribution to human society.
Best Presentation Award at ICSR 2024
The lab’s research paper, "What Makes an Educational Robot Game Fun? Framework Analysis of Children’s Design Ideas," was developed with the participation of the Furhat robot received the Best Presentation Award at the 16th International Conference on Social Robotics (ICSR 2024), held from October 23-26 in Odense, Denmark. The paper was also nominated for the Best Paper award. Given that 2024 year’s conference theme - "Empowering Humanity: The Role of Social and Collaborative Robotics in Shaping Our Future," focused on innovative advancements in social robotics, it emphasized their role in enhancing human interaction and societal integration.
