Personalizing aided communication systems to enhance learning of abstract socio-emotional concepts

Alyssa Kubota
SFSU

Stevenson 1301
12:00 PM

People with complex communication needs (CCN) often use augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) systems to augment or replace their speech. However, these systems typically use generic graphical symbols meant to represent abstract socio-emotional concepts (e.g., emotion, state of being) which limits their ability to support meaningful understanding and expression of these concepts. In this talk, I will discuss our existing and planned work in designing and developing a socially assistive robot to augment these systems and support AAC users. We draw from users’ lived emotions and experiences to bridge the gap between these abstract socio-emotional concepts and the generic graphical icons meant to represent them on AAC systems. We explore ethical considerations, inclusive participatory design with children with CCN, and technical approaches to integrating assistive robots into this context.