Social robots show promise as learning partners for children, yet most child–robot interaction (CRI) systems for education continue to rely on screens as the primary interface, even when an embodied robot is present. This dependency constrains physical movement, limits social engagement, and conflicts with children’s developmental needs for a tangible, embodied experience. We present TEECRI, a Tangible and Embodied Educational Child–Robot Interaction framework, that provides design principles and illustrative scenarios for screen-free CRI, in which interaction is distributed across a social robot and everyday physical objects augmented with embedded sensors such as RFID tags, accelerometers, touch, and pressure sensors. These sensor-enhanced objects communicate their state to the robot in real time, enabling the robot to maintain continuous spatial awareness of objects and children without any visual display. We present the preliminary system design and components, outline three design principles for fully embodied CRI, and illustrate this approach through five design scenarios.

To support engaging sustainability education, this paper introduces the Multi-Realm Robot (MR2) framework, a narrative-driven learning experience where a single robot character, Blossom, spans a 2D game, an augmented reality (AR) environment, and the physical world. The system integrates game-based learning, AR guidance, and a Wizard-of-Oz-operated social robot within a unified narrative. To our knowledge, this is the first work portraying a robot as a continuous character across multiple modalities, fostering children’s sustainable practices. We describe the narrative, system design, and playtest results, showing the framework’s promising impact.

Most mental health conditions emerge during adolescence, making university years pivotal for intervention. Nearly 30% of students worldwide experience mental health difficulties, yet support remains constrained by stigma and limited resources. This work investigates how interactive technologies, integrated with a wearable heart-rate sensor, can enhance psychological and emotional well-being through the ancient yogic breathing practice, Nadi Shuddhi. We developed two autonomous, adaptive systems - one combining a social robot with a tablet, and one tablet-only, both delivering real-time guidance based on heart-rate variability and breath rate. A study involving 42 university students across 200 sessions revealed both systems significantly increased parasympathetic activation, mindfulness, and calmness while reducing short-term stress and depression symptoms. Compared to a tablet-only condition, the robot’s physical presence led to a significant decrease in breath rate, improved mood, higher competence, and more positive user perceptions, while usability remained comparable, highlighting its potential for supporting youth mental health through social robots with biofeedback.

Social robots have shown considerable potential in supporting children’s learning. However, most child-robot interaction (CRI) research has been conducted in supervised laboratory settings, leaving questions about how children engage with robots autonomously in real-world learning environments. We developed a fully autonomous social robotic system and deployed it in summer camp classrooms without direct adult supervision. Our study spanned two months across seven summer camps (each lasting 3–5 days) and examined children’s interactions with a humanoid robot through game-based learning. A total of 100 children from two age groups (6–8 and 9–12 years) engaged with ten educational games tailored to their developmental stages, guided by a QTrobot. Our findings show that autonomous social robots can be integrated into classroom settings without direct supervision and are well accepted by children across age groups, while revealing age-specific differences in perception, engagement, and social behavior, alongside practical challenges related to time, distraction, and technical robustness.