Investigating teachers and students´ perception of artificial embodied tutors (IRIS)

Purpose and goal

IRIS will investigate perception and acceptance of embodied virtual and robotic tutors in schools by following a teacher- and student-centric approach. The project will provide concrete guidelines to allow for the future development of robotic technology that has the potential to improve the learning and teaching experience of STEM topics. In terms of qualifications, IRIS will allow the applicant to develop expertise in the areas of e-learning, interaction design, mobile computing, and intelligent robotics.

Results and expected effects

The IRIS project will contribute to the creation of an innovation culture, defined by new approaches to education that will trigger the desire of the young generations to pursue STEM-oriented disciplines and to discover the joy of innovating, creating and solving. The envisioned long-term effects span from higher levels of engagement of young people in STEM topics to an increased number of graduates choosing a STEM career that meets the current demand for engineers and scientists, key to Sweden´s future economic growth, competitiveness, global stature and quality of life.

Approach and implementation

The applicant will implement close collaborations with research groups affiliated with KTH´s School of CSC. These include: the Media Technology and Interaction Design (MID) group, the Computer Vision and Action Perception (CVAP) Lab, and the Mobile Life VINN Excellence Centre, a joint venture of KTH and other partners. In addition to the activities carried out during the project and the qualifications achieved by the applicant, the IRIS project will build the ground for the establishment of long-term collaborations between KTH and the University of Birmingham.