Robots raise the bar for university research

5 hours ago

Phil HarrisonSouth East, Canterbury

News image — The Pint of Science Festival in Canterbury will see robots like Nao visit a pub

BBC Nao, a boy-like white plastic robot with blue glowing eyes, strikes a pose for the camera — The Pint of Science Festival in Canterbury will see robots like Nao visit a pub

The University of Kent will be taking robots to the pub on Wednesday for a research project into human socialisation.

School of Computing researchers are letting two robots meet the public at The Foundry in Canterbury as part of the international Pint of Science Festival.

Dr Giovanni Masala, senior lecturer in computer science, explains: "The aim of the festival is to make the science understandable for all. Robots have had bad advertising in the movies, so we will try to explain their benefit."

The research team says it hopes to bring new opportunities to develop robots which can support dementia care, learning, and assisted independent living at home.

The robots, which usually reside within the Cognitive Robotics and Autonomous Systems Lab on the Canterbury campus, are designed to help older adults with daily tasks, memory, and companionship, all using everyday language.

Buddy is a wheeled companion robot with a large, expressive facial screen to mimic human emotions for more engaging interaction, and can hold conversation in multiple languages.

Nao has a small humanoid design and is often used in research and education to study how people interact with robots socially, and is widely used in schools, therapy settings, and care environments, such as autism support.

Dr Ioanna Giorgi and Dr Giovanni Masala sat on a sofa with two small child-like robots, with NAO and Buddy — Dr Ioanna Giorgi and Dr Giovanni Masala with Nao and Buddy who they are taking to The Foundry in Canterbury

Dr Ioanna Giorgi, lecturer in Artificial Intelligence, says: "They can be your companion, help you around in the house, take care of your well-being, support you with medication intake, give reminders, calendar management.

"It's not about replacing human care, it's about providing it where there is none."

Pint of Science, is a festival of public science talks in which scientists take to the stage in more than 45 cities at 150 watering holes and cafes across the UK.

Researchers from the University of Kent and Medway School of Pharmacy have joined forces to deliver events across three venues in Kent with topics ranging from chronic pain and sleep, to the bacteria hiding in our guts.

It is hoped the public will be able to find out more about social robots and how they can work alongside us all.

"It's not about taking over," adds Giorgi.

"It's about augmenting human care and human capabilities."

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