Social Robotics set to ‘Blossom’ at Atlantic Technological University

ATU Lecturers join forces with ATU MakerSpace

ATU lecturers Drs John Pender and Perry Share, who have created two ATU MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) on Social Robotics, and PhD student Jack McAteer Wallace joined Stuart Lawn of ATU MakerSpace on campus in Sligo to start the process of building a social robot.

Final year students undertaking the BA (Hons) Social Care Practice programme have enrolled on the elective module Futures of Care, Society and Welfare. A key component of this elective module is to anticipate the myriad futures social care practitioners may encounter in their future careers.

Drs Pender and Share have undertaken extensive research on the possibilities of human-robot interactions in the delivery of future care. While issues of policy, ethics and practice are explored on the module, this year’s student cohort will get to build a social robot.

In conjunction with ATU’s MakerSpace facility and because of a creative commons license, students will build Blossom robots and gain invaluable insights into the mechanics on robot construction.

This is the first time in Ireland that social care practice students have been afforded a learning opportunity that paves the way for an intersectional exploration of care and social robotics.

Watch this YouTube video for more: https://youtu.be/HS9Bkuf6IOE?si=vTifIr4nYbqvJ2Zs