A robotic assistant to support the social and cognitive development of children from low-income families

Abstract

According to latest estimates of the UNESCO, 38% of children leave primary school without learning how to read, write and do simple arithmetic operations. In the same way, approximately 124 million children and adolescents are denied opportunities to enter and complete school. In light of the above, in this paper, we present a robotic assistant aimed at supporting the development of social and cognitive skills in children of low-income families. This robotic assistant is part of the educational program "Sciences classroom for children" that is aimed at providing an educational and fun space where children can learn several concepts organized in 5 interactive ludic micro-worlds: electricity, magnetism, digital electronic, ecology, and robotic. To determine the real feasibility of the robotic assistant, we have conducted a pilot experiment with 68 children of low-income families, and the results achieved shows high levels of acceptation by children.