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Could a social robot — a small robotic character or pet — be helpful to children living with anxiety? For this project, we will work with children and families to imagine the future of robotics for children’s mental health and learn about what useful social robotics for children could look like in British Columbia. Studies have shown that children are highly receptive to potential robotic interventions and are likely to be accepting of them as tools to improve their health. However, social robots are often developed according to engineer- and expert-driven priorities, rather than in consultation with end-user families.
In the proposed work, we will hold a series of three workshops with families with a lived experience of childhood anxiety in order to identify the most pressing research questions when it comes to pediatric mental health and social robotics. We will also learn from these families what outcomes are most important to them. The overall goal of this work is to understand what would make a robotic intervention helpful and meaningful to families.