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Fostering Inclusion using Social Robots in mixed-visual ability classrooms using multimodal feedback

Visually Impaired children are increasingly included in mainstream schools as an inclusive education practice. However, even though they are side-by-side with their sighted peers, they face classroom participation issues, 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 behaviors, sensors, and multimodal feedback. However, the design of social robots for mixed-visual abilities classrooms 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-visual abilities children. In the presentation we will also share how we can use robots, with its different modalities and roles in promoting inclusion among children with different visual abilities.