The quality of life of people with special needs, such as residents of healthcare facilities, may be improved through operating social telepresence robots that provide the ability to participate in remote activities with friends or family. However, to date, such platforms do not exist for this population.Methodology: Our research utilized an iterative, bottomup, user-centered approach, drawing upon our assistive robotics experiences. Based on the findings of our formative user studies, we developed an augmented reality user interface for our social telepresence robot. Our user interface focuses primarily on the human-human interaction and communication through video, providing support for semi-autonomous navigation. We conducted a case study (n=4) with our target population in which the robot was used to visit a remote art gallery.Results: All of the participants were able to operate the robot to explore the gallery, form opinions about the exhibits, and engage in conversation.Significance: This case study demonstrates that people from our target population can successfully engage in the active role of operating a telepresence robot.

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A significant amount of robotics research over the past decade has shown that many children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) have a strong interest in robots and robot toys, concluding that robots are potential tools for the therapy of individuals with ASD. However, clinicians, who have the authority to approve robots in ASD therapy, are not convinced about the potential of robots. One major reason is that the research in this domain does not have a strong focus on the efficacy of robots. Robots in ASD therapy are end-user oriented technologies, the success of which depends on their demonstrated efficacy in real settings. This paper focuses on measuring the efficacy of robots in ASD therapy and, based on the data from a feasibility study, shows that the human-robot interaction (HRI) metrics commonly used in this research domain might not be sufficient.

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