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About

Nigel Newbutt is a leading researcher at the intersection of human-computer interaction, social robotics, and autism education. His work centers on co-designing and embedding socially assistive robots—most notably the Softbank Pepper robot—within Special Educational Needs (SEN) schools to support the well-being of autistic children. A hallmark of Newbutt’s approach is his commitment to participatory design: he and his team work directly with autistic children and their teachers to collaboratively identify user requirements and shape robot behaviors. His most-cited paper (23 citations) reports on a three-week in-situ deployment of Pepper, framing the robot as a “teaching aid or resource external to the classroom.” A second highly cited study (14 citations) details the co-design methodology itself, while a third (8 citations) applies UNICEF’s AI for Children guidance to ensure ethical, child-centered design. Newbutt’s work is notable for its real-world, longitudinal embedding of robots in authentic school environments, moving beyond lab-based studies to demonstrate practical impact. His research offers a compelling model for how vulnerable populations can be empowered as active partners in technology design.