Social Robotics for Disabled Students: An Empirical Investigation of Embodiment, Roles and Interaction

TL;DR

This study investigates how social robots, in physical and voice forms, are perceived by disabled students in higher education, revealing embodiment influences understanding, sociability, and privacy concerns, with implications for accessibility support.

Contribution

It provides empirical insights into the effects of robot embodiment and roles on disabled students' perceptions, informing design of accessible robotic support systems in education.

Findings

Physical robots perceived as more understanding than voice agents

Embodiment affects perceptions of sociability, animacy, and privacy

Differences observed between disability types

Abstract

Institutional and social barriers in higher education often prevent students with disabilities from effectively accessing support, including lengthy procedures, insufficient information, and high social-emotional demands. This study empirically explores how disabled students perceive robot-based support, comparing two interaction roles, one information based (signposting) and one disclosure based (sounding board), and two embodiment types (physical robot/disembodied voice agent). Participants assessed these systems across five dimensions: perceived understanding, social energy demands, information access/clarity, task difficulty, and data privacy concerns. The main findings of the study reveal that the physical robot was perceived as more understanding than the voice-only agent, with embodiment significantly shaping perceptions of sociability, animacy, and privacy. We also analyse differences between disability types. These results provide critical insights into the potential of social robots to mitigate accessibility barriers in higher education, while highlighting ethical, social and technical challenges.