PO˚ME: a dog-type social robot for supporting children’s reading activity

Abstract

This study is an intermediate step in the 'Read to a Robot' project, which aims to develop a dog-type social robot that supports children’s reading activities by designing a likable appearance and effective physical interaction. The robot's name is PO˚ME, derived from a Pomeranian which was selected as the most likable dog breed in a preference survey. The design and development process of PO˚ME involved several steps. First, use cases was created and derived expression patterns for how the robot should respond to children's actions in reading scenarios. Then the physical interaction was designed by determining motion areas. PO˚ME's appearance was carefully created to appeal to children. To reflect children's preferences, a preference survey was conducted on breed, size, color, and material. The main material was microfiber cloth that is commonly used for stuffed animals to provide the soft touch that children prefer. The robot's behavior characteristics play an important role in enhancing the user experience and providing children with positive reading support for children. To this end, the robot's expression patterns were carefully designed and reflected in the working prototype. Using the completed working prototype of PO˚ME, the effectiveness of the system was confirmed through user evaluation with real children in an offline environment. The main evaluation factors included children's recognition rate of PO˚ME's expressions, partial likability and overall likability, and their expectations of using PO˚ME in real life. The evaluation showed that PO˚ME received a very positive response: they were highly satisfied with the look and feel of PO˚ME and correctly recognized PO˚ME's expressions. However, there was a noticeable lack of accuracy for a few expressions, which could be improved by the children's responses and reactions. The children also expected PO˚ME to have a positive effect on their reading. This suggests that PO˚ME has the potential to provide effective support for improving children's reading skills and forming reading habits. In consideration of these results, PO˚ME is expected to have a positive impact on achieving the goals of the ‘Read to a Robot’ project, as well as demonstrating the economic and hygienic benefits of replacing live dogs with robots in the long term. It can also serve as a case study for the development of zoomorphic robots for the Child-Robot Interaction (CRI) to ensure that they have the appearance and interactive features that children prefer.