Robot-Mediated Inclusive Processes in Groups of Children: From Gaze Aversion to Mutual Smiling Gaze

Area of Science:

• Human-Robot Interaction (HRI)
• Child Development
• Sociolinguistics
• Artificial Intelligence

Background:

• Social robots offer potential for inclusive educational environments, particularly for newly arrived children integrating with peers.
• Previous research explored robot behaviors and recorded child-robot-child interactions during a game.
• Understanding nuanced social cues is crucial for effective robot-mediated inclusion.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze video data of children's interactions mediated by a social robot using ethnomethodology and conversation analysis.
• To investigate mutual gaze as a critical interactional accomplishment between unacquainted children.
• To identify how specific interaction patterns contribute to relationship building and inclusion.

Main Methods:

• Qualitative video analysis employing ethnomethodology and conversation analysis.
• Focus on mutual gaze as a phenomenon in child-child interactions mediated by a social robot.
• Detailed analysis of interaction extracts to identify patterns and trajectories of eye contact.

Main Results:

• Mutual gaze emerged as a challenging but vital interactional accomplishment between unfamiliar children.
• Two primary situations for eye contact were identified: exchanging instructions and sharing emotional reactions.
• Specific interaction patterns involving mutual gaze were linked to relationship building and social inclusion.

Conclusions:

• Findings inform Human-Robot Interaction (HRI) and robot design, highlighting the need for robots to perceive complex social cues.
• Social robots should be capable of recognizing interactional accomplishments to better support the inclusion of outgroup children.
• The study underscores the value of interdisciplinary research, combining HRI with ethnomethodology and conversation analysis.