Using robots in therapy for children on the autism spectrum is a promising avenue for child-robot interaction, and one that has garnered significant interest from the research community. After preliminary interviews with stakeholders and evaluating music selections, twelve typically developing (TD) children and three children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) participated in an experiment where they played the dance freeze game to four songs in partnership with either a NAO robot or a human partner. Overall, there were significant differences between TD children and children with ASD (e.g., mimicry, dance quality, & game play). There were mixed results for TD children, but they tended to show greater engagement with the researcher. However, objective results for children with ASD showed greater attention and engagement while dancing with the robot. There was little difference in game performance between partners or songs for either group. However, upbeat music did encourage greater movement than calm music. Using a robot in a musical dance game for children with ASD appears to show the advantages and potential just as in previous research efforts. Implications and future research are discussed with the results.

In an eight-week STEAM education program for elementary school children, kids worked on musical theater projects with a variety of robots. The program included 4 modules about acting, dancing, music & sounds, and drawing. Twenty-five children grades K-5 participated in this program. Children were excited by the program and they demonstrated collaboration and peer-to-peer interactive learning. In the future, we plan to add more robust interaction and more science and engineering experiences to the program. This program is expected to promote STEM education in the informal learning environment by combining it with arts and design.

As the technology needed to make robots robust and affordable draws ever nearer, human-robot interaction (HRI) research to make robots more useful and accessible to the general population becomes more crucial. In this study, 59 college students filled out an online survey soliciting their judgments regarding seven social robots based solely on appearance. Results suggest that participants prefer robots that resemble animals or humans over those that are intended to represent an imaginary creature or do not resemble a creature at all. Results are discussed based on social robot application and design features.

In entering the digital realm, older adults face obstacles beyond the more clearly understood physical and cognitive barriers traditionally associated with accessibility. This experience report is a collection of narratives from learners and student tutors who participate in our digital literacy sessions for seniors. We point out ways in which attitudes and motivations, framed by social and cultural factors, can either hinder or assist with adoption of commodity digital technology among older newcomers. We also show how a social-cognitive approach can help learners overcome barriers to digital literacy.

We have tried to promote STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) education for underserved students using interactive robots. As an advanced attempt to integrate art and design into STEM education (i.e., STEAM), in the present paper we introduce our afterschool program in which elementary students create live theatre using multiple robots as actors. We hope to receive feedback and comments on our afterschool curriculum and case study, and thus, we can run better sessions at schools and make a standardized protocol regarding this robot actors approach.