Robots can be used to assess children’s mental wellbeing

Nao robot shaking hands with study co-author Dr Micol Spitale Credit: Rachel Gardner Robots can be better at detecting mental wellbeing issues in children than parent-reported or self-reported testing, a new study suggests. Children might see the robot as a confidante - they feel like they won't get into trouble if they share secrets with it Nida Itrat Abbasi A team of roboticists, computer scientists and psychiatrists from the University of Cambridge carried out a study with 28 children between the ages of eight and 13, and had a child-sized humanoid robot administer a series of standard psychological questionnaires to assess the mental wellbeing of each participant. The children were willing to confide in the robot, in some cases sharing information with the robot that they had not yet shared via the standard assessment method of online or in-person questionnaires. This is the first time that robots have been used to assess mental wellbeing in children. The researchers say that robots could be a useful addition to traditional methods of mental health assessment, although they are not intended to be a substitute for professional mental health support. The results will be presented today at the 31st IEEE International Conference on Robot & Human Interactive Communication (RO-MAN) in Naples, Italy. During the COVID-19 pandemic, home schooling, financial pressures, and isolation from peers and friends impacted the mental health of many children.