Friend, teacher, robot Pepper rolls into class to work with autistic pupils

AN interactive humanoid robot called Pepper, controlled by a researcher at Bristol’s University of the West of England, will be making history at a school next year.

A special needs school in Somerset is to become one of the first in Britain to introduce socially intelligent robots into the classroom to help teach autistic children.

The £20,000 robot will be placed into lessons as a hi-tech learning tool from next spring.

Researchers say the machines will take part in regular teaching as well as interacting with children to support various classroom activities.

They are not fully autonomous and will be controlled by a member of the research team at UWE.

Pepper is said to be capable of joining in a range of simple social and physical activities with children, such as story-telling, games and informal chats.

It will remain at the school for two months while education and technology experts evaluate how the robots can be best used by schools to engage pupils.

Previous similar projects have involved testing robots with autistic people within laboratories and controlled settings.

But this is believed to be one of the first times a robot had ever been placed in a classroom setting for a sustained period.

Senior researcher in digital education Dr Nigel Newbutt said: “This project is particularly exciting as it is one of the few studies which places a robot in real classrooms and we are putting the pupil and teacher experience at the centre of the research.

“All of our work will be guided and shaped by this important input. We consider an inclusive approach to research with autistic groups to be vital when working to understand their priorities, opportunities and challenges in using technology.

“We already know that robots can offer a range of benefits to people with autism but now we can explore exactly how they work in a school setting and how children and teachers can make the best use of them in areas identified by the pupils and teachers themselves.

“It will be interesting to see how pupils view and engage with the robot. It could be seen as a friend, teaching assistant or simply a piece of equipment.’’

Programmed at the Bristol Robotics Laboratory, its behaviours and commands focus on improving social interventions which many autistic children struggle with.

These include social communication skills, joint attention (the shared focus of two individuals on an object) and exercising. Research has already shown that people with autism can often perform better with a robot than human partners.

Experts say the devices can also be effective in helping children with autism to develop their social, communication and fine motor skills.

Cleaning and hygiene measures will also be in place throughout the project to ensure the robot is Covid-secure.

Dr Newbutt believes the robots could be a worthwhile investment for schools in the future despite their hefty price tag.

He added: “‘Research in this area is still in its early stages but it has shown that robots can be effective in supporting autistic children while augmenting their learning development.

“Of course, robots can represent a big initial investment for schools, but the investment could be supported with greater evidence and research exploring how, why and where such technologies offer “value-added” contexts in schools.

“Our research project intends to start this conversation so that schools may consider engaging with robot technology in the future.’’