- Email: [email protected]
Humanizing Humanoids Towards Social Inclusiveness for Children with Autism
Available online at www.sciencedirect.com
ScienceDirect Procedia Computer Science 105 (2017) 359 – 364
2016 IEEE International Symposium on Robotics and Intelligent Sensors, IRIS 2016, 17-20 December 2016, Tokyo, Japan
Humanizing Humanoids towards Social Inclusiveness for Children with Autism Rugayah Hashima*, Hanafiah Yussofb a
Faculty of Administrative Science & Policy Studies, Universiti Teknologi MARA, 40450 Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia
b
Humanoid Robots & Bio-sensing Center/Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Universiti Teknologi MARA, 40450 Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia
Abstract Assistive technologies in the form of humanoids have gained mileage in the area of rehabilitation, in particular, for children with various mental disabilities such as autism. The extent of the use of humanoids in augmenting these children are numerous yet, the social inclusiveness in the form of religious values, spirituality and ethics have hardly been explored. In these new and ambiguous dimensions, evidences of inclusiveness through repeated observations and interviews as well as secondary data analyses formed the hybrid methodology for this research project. The findings revealed a positive influence by humanizing humanoids in the social skill augmentation, religious and spiritual enhance of the scope. In attempting such a sensitive project, proper ethical procedures have to be in place because of the focus group. The implications of the findings are important in drafting relevant policies not just in educating the children, but to improve their quality of life, enriching the family well-being and enhance societal awareness for social inclusiveness. 2016The TheAuthors. Authors. Published Elsevier ©©2017 Published by by Elsevier B.V.B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer-review under responsibility of organizing committee of the 2016 IEEE International Symposium on Robotics and Intelligent Peer-review under responsibility of organizing committee of the 2016 IEEE International Symposium on Robotics and Intelligent Sensors (IRIS 2016). Sensors(IRIS 2016).
Keywords: humanoid; social inclusiveness; human-robot interaction; autism;
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +603-55444158; fax: +603-55444131. E-mail address: [email protected]
1877-0509 © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer-review under responsibility of organizing committee of the 2016 IEEE International Symposium on Robotics and Intelligent Sensors(IRIS 2016). doi:10.1016/j.procs.2017.01.234
360
Rugayah Hashim and Hanafiah Yussof / Procedia Computer Science 105 (2017) 359 – 364
1. Introduction In the study of interactions between humans and robots (HRI), the field have become multidisciplinary and transdisciplinary. Contributions from HRI have encroached into the social sciences such that other important factors with regards to humanistic aspects, for example, social skills training, ethics, religion and spiritual issues. In humanizing the robots, natural HRI requires ensuring that the robot has the ability to capture, process and accurately and robustly understand human requests [1]. Consequently, it is important that the humanizing aspects work both ways but with more input from the human side. The developments and innovation on HRI have been considerable over the past decade with Japan paving the way through the popular robot called Asimo by Honda [2, 3]. As a technological attraction humanoid robots have garnered popularity, however, these socially assistive robots can be put to better use, such as in educational and social practices [4]. From literature reviewed, there have been many studies that showed technologies facilitating teaching and learning but for the use of humanoids, the acceptance by the teachers first is an important step forward. However, Fridin and Belokopytov [4] reported that teachers do not use technology effectively in the classroom. The non-adoption of simple technology in the classroom may hinder other assistive technologies such as the use of humanoids. Nevertheless, budgetary constraints have been shown to hinder the adoption of humanoids in the classrooms of schools in developing countries [5]. As such this paper provide insights in the form of an emergent on the on humanizing humanoids through secondary data analyses triangulated with findings from interviews, feedbacks and observations from teachers, parents and guardians of children with various disabilities including autism at a specific primary school. 2. Theoretical framework on variables that facilitate social inclusiveness and ethics Explosive news on science and innovative ventures of robotics into human emotions have been controversial. Renegade scientists have gone into far-fetched ideas with programming robots to have the same mind as humans. Aside from making robots look like humans as in humanoids, physically, other aspects of human behaviour have been considered by scientists in attaining the ultimate, humanizing the robots. As posited by Martini et al [6], ascribing mental states to robots have been shown to increase likeability and inclusiveness which then leads to better HRI. For a developing country like Malaysia, the last few years have shown an increasing interest in robot-based research projects. Needless to say, the inquiries into robot interactions in a socially acceptable manner as humans paved the way for more studies to suit the country’s culture and religion. However, designing social robots is not an easy task [7]. Lakatos et al [7] opined that animal-form robots such as dogs would provide inter-specific interaction but dogs would not favour well for certain societies because of religious constraints. In addition, other research projects on robots have been shown that machines can teach human beings about intimacy and perceiving the individual’s responsiveness and needs [8] and other intimacies such as the desire for companionship [9]. Aside from this, for humans to accept and trust the machines require relevant evidences of success but in the case of future plans for Asimo, the humanoid robot was expected to blend in the social environment, interact with people and play more important roles in society [3]. On humanoids, research projects from various disciplines including the social sciences have shown current and adequate literature with regards the human-like robot. However, perspectives from communities throughout the globe is still lacking. Recent research has shown that anthropomorphism represents a means to facilitate HRI. Under which conditions do people anthropomorphize robots and other nonhuman agents? This research question was investigated in an experiment that manipulated participants' anticipation of a prospective human-robot interaction (HRI) with a robot whose behavior was characterized by either low or high predictability. We examined effects of these factors on perceptions of anthropomorphism and acceptance of the robot. Innovatively, the present research demonstrates that anticipation of HRI with an unpredictable agent increased anthropomorphic inferences and acceptance of the robot. Implications for future research on psychological determinants of anthropomorphism
Rugayah Hashim and Hanafiah Yussof / Procedia Computer Science 105 (2017) 359 – 364
are discussed. In a social inclusiveness context, Wood et al [10] pointed out that robots have been used in a variety of education, therapy or entertainment contexts. Besides that, in social interactions, humanoids responsivenessbehaving towards human beings require major role interactions and effective communication [11]. This shows that it is possible to train humanoids in other social skills, in particular those related to religion and spirituality. However, the issue here is not the ability of the machines to do so, but the ethical circumstances with regards to the family environment, culture and tradition in a Moslem household. Nonetheless, the existence and design of humanoid robots are for service purposes to work in close harmony with humans [12]. In this case too, Tondu [12] emphasized the consequences of anthropomorphism for both the technical and psychological aspects where the former refers to the technical realization of a human-like machine in a human environment and the latter “corresponds to the classical psychological meaning producing peculiar anthropomorphic projections on a nonhuman being”. For the scope on children with autism, humanizing the humanoids will greatly assist in the rehabilitation and augmentation of the children’s social skills in preparation for adulthood and independence. In attaining social inclusiveness, these children will benefit from the extra training by using the humanoids through a method called social robotics [13]. In their review paper, Pennisi et al [13], provided a systematic review on successful projects and new developments in autism and social robotics. Some breakthroughs were reported such as reduced repetitive and stereotyped behaviours, improved spontaneous language during therapy sessions [13]. Though most studies in this area are inadequate, the pursuance of this idea could be a landmark success on using humanoids for autism therapy. Another unique, social act is that of humanoids as religious and spiritual machines, for example, that of a “priest” presiding over the nuptials of a couple in Japan [14]. Although the argument was on the validity on the rites of that particular passage, the newlyweds are of the opinion that so long as the rites have been given due diligence, there is no issue at all [14]. On the contrary, other monotheistic religion, such as Islam, would not allow a humanoid to replace a “kadhi” to solemnize a wedding ceremony as certain religious issues cannot be compromised.
Social
•Behavioral •Perception •HRI
Spiritual
•Religion •Culture •Tradition
Ethics
•Moral •Values
Fig. 1 Framework on humanizing humanoids for social inclusiveness
On the theoretical framework for the study, the social theory was deemed appropriate as an analytical base in examining social phenomena [15], which in this case is on humanizing humanoids for social inclusiveness of children with autism. As noted above, this phenomenon is new to the Malaysian society. Gradual acceptance through accurate information will allow this Asian society to understand the change, social behavior and
361
362
Rugayah Hashim and Hanafiah Yussof / Procedia Computer Science 105 (2017) 359 – 364
transformation with regards to using robots in households that have children with special needs [16]. Furthermore, the theoretical underpinnings will provide the emergence of a tentative, new psychological constructs [17], on human-robot interaction [18] from the analyses of the interviews and observations (see Figure 1). 3. Method A qualitative method was used for this study such that the first phase was on literature review as this research area is still in its infancy in Malaysia. Furthermore, as noted by [19], the study begins, not with hypotheses to be proved or disproved, but with a flexible plan to explore a phenomenon after which inductive reasoning was used to draw conclusions. Only when all the literature were amassed was thematic analyses applied relative to the social theory. The second phase was followed by repeated interviews and observations. For the latter activities, weekly visits were done for more than a year. The interviews too were conducted at the convenience of the teachers and guardians for confirmation of responses received in the earlier meetings. To ensure conformation to protocol and individual consent for all the interactions, the ethics statement is shown below. For this paper, the literature reviewed spanned thirty months resulting in accumulated expanse of relevant sources. These were scrutinized for pattern similarities through word coding which were then triangulated with the analyses from the interview transcripts [20]. The analyses, in most part, were done manually through repeated readings and notations; these specific strategies for analysis in stages were centered on the work of Miles and Huberman (1994) [21]. Later, the analyses were tried on the NVivo software for comparative evaluations of the thematic findings. With regards to the second part of the research approach, the interviews were conducted using a semi-structured question guideline. The respondents were the teachers based at the special integrated program classes at the Sekolah Kebangsaan Raja Muda, Section 4, Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia. Although consensus sampling was applied, the interviews stopped at the seventh respondent as the information received have reached saturation, that is, the same responses were received from the last respondent. As the questions were guided, the analyses of the interview transcripts were through word similarities, that is, the detection of patterns that were later compared with themes generated through literature review. Thus, the themes derived were almost similar to that as shown in Fig. 1. Repeated confirmations of the responses were conducted with the same respondents, therefore, the emerging word patterns were verified as shown in Fig. 2, in the next section. 4. Findings The findings (Fig. 2) revealed other variables or antecedents from social inclusiveness such as, acceptance, evidence of success, influence, attitude, viability, compliance (religious compliance, suitability of cultural values and compliance to ethical norms). The implications to these findings will be elucidated in the next section.
Social inclusiveness
• Acceptance • Evidence of success • Influence • Attitude • Viability • Compliance • Religion • Cultural values • Ethical norms
Fig. 2. Confirmation of emergent variables on social inclusiveness.
Rugayah Hashim and Hanafiah Yussof / Procedia Computer Science 105 (2017) 359 – 364
5. Implications and Conclusion The six variables and three subsets (see Fig. 2) showed the necessary elements for humanizing humanoids in attesting the feasibility of using robots for social skill augmentation of the children with autism. All the variables are inter-related. For instance the first variable is acceptance where all the respondents insisted that having a humanoid in the classroom requires a changed mindset among the teachers and the students. Acceptance is not limited to these two categories of stakeholders; other parties with vested interests are the school administrators and most importantly, the parents and guardians to these special-needs’ students. Henceforth, ethical elements and norms must be complied with. To ensure acceptance, there must be evidence of success and the teachers are insistent on this. The teachers would like the see other similar schools that have used humanoids in the classroom and that the assistive technology have gained credible grounds in education and social skills of the students. In doing so, there must be positive influence for the humanoid to substitute some parts of a teacher’s workload in social-skilling the students. The attitude of all the stakeholders are very important in gaining acceptance and achieving success in humanizing the humanoids for social inclusiveness. Much like the evidence of success, the viability of the project must be shown. With ethical compliance, religious and cultural values have to be conformed. In fact, these two elements are crucial in ensuring social inclusiveness. Hence it can be concluded that in humanizing the humanoids, other basic, psychological needs of the stakeholders are important in ensuring that the assistive technology could prove as an innovative element in education and social skill augmentation of children with special needs. Specifically, children with autism requires a customized and personalized teaching environment. To inculcate and internalize social skills require repeated activities which the humanoid could provide. Yet the ultimate outcome is the social inclusiveness part in preparing these special-needs children for their later life and adulthood and blend with society. 6. Ethics Statement The Institute of Research and Management Innovation (IRMI) at Universiti Teknologi MARA has approved the design of the fundamental research project as the research presented no more than minimal risk of harm to the participants and the data were analyzed anonymously. While no written consent was obtained, participants from the school acknowledge their support by allowing themselves to be interviewed and the students at the various classes were observed regularly. Acknowledgements Due acknowledgement is directed to the Ministry of Higher Education, Malaysia for funding the research project through the Niche Research Grant Scheme (P13/2013), as well as the support received from Universiti Teknologi MARA. Also, we would like to thank the teachers at the Special Education Integration Program (PPKI), Sekolah Kebangsaan (SK) Raja Muda, Section 4, Shah Alam, Selangor for their cooperation towards the success of the data collection processes. References 1. Rodriguez, I., Astigarraga, A., Jauregi, E., Ruiz, T., and Lazkano, E.: ‘Humanizing NAO robot teleoperation using ROS’, in Editor (Ed.)^(Eds.): ‘Book Humanizing NAO robot teleoperation using ROS’ (2014, edn.), pp. 179-186 2. Mutlu, B., Osman, S., Forlizzi, J., Hodgins, J., and Kiesler, S.: ‘Perceptions of ASIMO: an exploration on co-operation and competition with humans and humanoid robots’, in Editor (Ed.)^(Eds.): ‘Book Perceptions of ASIMO: an exploration on co-operation and competition with humans and humanoid robots’ (ACM, 2006, edn.), pp. 351-352 3. Hirai, K.: ‘The Honda humanoid robot: development and future perspective’, Industrial Robot: An International Journal, 1999, 26, (4), pp. 260-266 4. Fridin, M., and Belokopytov, M.: ‘Acceptance of socially assistive humanoid robot by preschool and elementary school teachers’, Computers in Human Behavior, 2014, 33, pp. 23-31
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Rugayah Hashim and Hanafiah Yussof / Procedia Computer Science 105 (2017) 359 – 364 5. Saleh, N.M., Hassan, H., Fikry, A., Musa, R., Ahmad, S.S., Ismail, Z., Samat, N., and Hashim, R.: ‘Autism children: Cost and benefit analysis of using humanoid in Malaysia’, in Editor (Ed.)^(Eds.): ‘Book Autism children: Cost and benefit analysis of using humanoid in Malaysia’ (2015, edn.), pp. 185-187 6. Martini, M.C., Gonzalez, C.A., and Wiese, E.: ‘Seeing Minds in Others - Can Agents with Robotic Appearance Have Human-Like Preferences?’, Plos One, 2016, 11, (1) 7. Lakatos, G., Gacsi, M., and Bereczky, B.: ‘Emotion Attribution to a Non-Humanoid Robot in Different Social Situations (vol 9, e114207, 2014)’, Plos One, 2015, 10, (3) 8. Birnbaum, G.E., Mizrahi, M., Hoffman, G., Reis, H.T., Finkel, E.J., and Sass, O.: ‘What robots can teach us about intimacy: The reassuring effects of robot responsiveness to human disclosure’, Computers in Human Behavior, 2016, 63, pp. 416-423 9. Birnbaum, G.E., Mizrahi, M., Hoffman, G., Reis, H.T., Finkel, E.J., and Sass, O.: ‘Machines as a source of consolation: Robot responsiveness increases human approach behavior and desire for companionship’, in Editor (Ed.)^(Eds.): ‘Book Machines as a source of consolation: Robot responsiveness increases human approach behavior and desire for companionship’ (2016, edn.), pp. 165-171 10. Wood, L.J., Dautenhahn, K., Rainer, A., Robins, B., Lehmann, H., and Syrdal, D.S.: ‘Robot-Mediated Interviews - How Effective Is a Humanoid Robot as a Tool for Interviewing Young Children?’, Plos One, 2013, 8, (3) 11. Hoffman, G., Birnbaum, G.E., Vanunu, K., Sass, O., and Reis, H.T.: ‘Robot responsiveness to human disclosure affects social impression and appeal’, in Editor (Ed.)^(Eds.): ‘Book Robot responsiveness to human disclosure affects social impression and appeal’ (2014, edn.), pp. 1-7 12. Tondu, B.: ‘Anthropomorphism and service humanoid robots: an ambiguous relationship’, The Industrial Robot, 2012, 39, (6), pp. 609-618 13. Pennisi, P., Tonacci, A., Tartarisco, G., Billeci, L., Ruta, L., Gangemi, S., and Pioggia, G.: ‘Autism and social robotics: A systematic review’, Autism Research, 2016, 9, (2), pp. 165-183 14 ‘Spiritual machines? [Spiritual Atheist]’, in Editor (Ed.)^(Eds.): ‘Book Spiritual machines? [Spiritual Atheist]’ (2013, edn.), pp. 15 .Harrington, A.: ‘Modern Social Theory: An Introduction’ (Oxford University Press, 2005. 2005) 16. Begum, M., Serna, R.W., and Yanco, H.A.: ‘Are Robots Ready to Deliver Autism Interventions? A Comprehensive Review’, International Journal of Social Robotics, 2016, 8, (2), pp. 157-181 17. Sun, Y., and Sundar, S.S.: ‘Psychological importance of human agency: How self-assembly affects user experience of robots’, in Editor (Ed.)^(Eds.): ‘Book Psychological importance of human agency: How self-assembly affects user experience of robots’ (2016, edn.), pp. 189196 18. Prakash, A., and Rogers, W.A.: ‘Why Some Humanoid Faces Are Perceived More Positively Than Others: Effects of Human-Likeness and Task’, International Journal of Social Robotics, 2015, 7, (2), pp. 309-331 19 .Wilson, V.A.: ‘Qualitative Research: An Introduction. Purposes, Methodology, Criteria for Judgment, and a Rationale for Mixed Methodology’, in Editor (Ed.)^(Eds.): ‘Book Qualitative Research: An Introduction. Purposes, Methodology, Criteria for Judgment, and a Rationale for Mixed Methodology’ (1998, edn.), pp. 16 20 .Houghton, C., Murphy, K., Shaw, D., and Casey, D.: ‘Qualitative case study data analysis: An example from practice’, Nurse Researcher, 2015, 22, (5), pp. 8-12 21. Ridder, H.G., Miles, M.B., Michael Huberman, A., and Saldaña, J.: ‘Qualitative data analysis. A methods sourcebook’, Zeitschrift fur Personalforschung, 2014, 28, (4), pp. 485-487
ScienceDirect Procedia Computer Science 105 (2017) 359 – 364
2016 IEEE International Symposium on Robotics and Intelligent Sensors, IRIS 2016, 17-20 December 2016, Tokyo, Japan
Humanizing Humanoids towards Social Inclusiveness for Children with Autism Rugayah Hashima*, Hanafiah Yussofb a
Faculty of Administrative Science & Policy Studies, Universiti Teknologi MARA, 40450 Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia
b
Humanoid Robots & Bio-sensing Center/Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Universiti Teknologi MARA, 40450 Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia
Abstract Assistive technologies in the form of humanoids have gained mileage in the area of rehabilitation, in particular, for children with various mental disabilities such as autism. The extent of the use of humanoids in augmenting these children are numerous yet, the social inclusiveness in the form of religious values, spirituality and ethics have hardly been explored. In these new and ambiguous dimensions, evidences of inclusiveness through repeated observations and interviews as well as secondary data analyses formed the hybrid methodology for this research project. The findings revealed a positive influence by humanizing humanoids in the social skill augmentation, religious and spiritual enhance of the scope. In attempting such a sensitive project, proper ethical procedures have to be in place because of the focus group. The implications of the findings are important in drafting relevant policies not just in educating the children, but to improve their quality of life, enriching the family well-being and enhance societal awareness for social inclusiveness. 2016The TheAuthors. Authors. Published Elsevier ©©2017 Published by by Elsevier B.V.B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer-review under responsibility of organizing committee of the 2016 IEEE International Symposium on Robotics and Intelligent Peer-review under responsibility of organizing committee of the 2016 IEEE International Symposium on Robotics and Intelligent Sensors (IRIS 2016). Sensors(IRIS 2016).
Keywords: humanoid; social inclusiveness; human-robot interaction; autism;
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +603-55444158; fax: +603-55444131. E-mail address: [email protected]
1877-0509 © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer-review under responsibility of organizing committee of the 2016 IEEE International Symposium on Robotics and Intelligent Sensors(IRIS 2016). doi:10.1016/j.procs.2017.01.234
360
Rugayah Hashim and Hanafiah Yussof / Procedia Computer Science 105 (2017) 359 – 364
1. Introduction In the study of interactions between humans and robots (HRI), the field have become multidisciplinary and transdisciplinary. Contributions from HRI have encroached into the social sciences such that other important factors with regards to humanistic aspects, for example, social skills training, ethics, religion and spiritual issues. In humanizing the robots, natural HRI requires ensuring that the robot has the ability to capture, process and accurately and robustly understand human requests [1]. Consequently, it is important that the humanizing aspects work both ways but with more input from the human side. The developments and innovation on HRI have been considerable over the past decade with Japan paving the way through the popular robot called Asimo by Honda [2, 3]. As a technological attraction humanoid robots have garnered popularity, however, these socially assistive robots can be put to better use, such as in educational and social practices [4]. From literature reviewed, there have been many studies that showed technologies facilitating teaching and learning but for the use of humanoids, the acceptance by the teachers first is an important step forward. However, Fridin and Belokopytov [4] reported that teachers do not use technology effectively in the classroom. The non-adoption of simple technology in the classroom may hinder other assistive technologies such as the use of humanoids. Nevertheless, budgetary constraints have been shown to hinder the adoption of humanoids in the classrooms of schools in developing countries [5]. As such this paper provide insights in the form of an emergent on the on humanizing humanoids through secondary data analyses triangulated with findings from interviews, feedbacks and observations from teachers, parents and guardians of children with various disabilities including autism at a specific primary school. 2. Theoretical framework on variables that facilitate social inclusiveness and ethics Explosive news on science and innovative ventures of robotics into human emotions have been controversial. Renegade scientists have gone into far-fetched ideas with programming robots to have the same mind as humans. Aside from making robots look like humans as in humanoids, physically, other aspects of human behaviour have been considered by scientists in attaining the ultimate, humanizing the robots. As posited by Martini et al [6], ascribing mental states to robots have been shown to increase likeability and inclusiveness which then leads to better HRI. For a developing country like Malaysia, the last few years have shown an increasing interest in robot-based research projects. Needless to say, the inquiries into robot interactions in a socially acceptable manner as humans paved the way for more studies to suit the country’s culture and religion. However, designing social robots is not an easy task [7]. Lakatos et al [7] opined that animal-form robots such as dogs would provide inter-specific interaction but dogs would not favour well for certain societies because of religious constraints. In addition, other research projects on robots have been shown that machines can teach human beings about intimacy and perceiving the individual’s responsiveness and needs [8] and other intimacies such as the desire for companionship [9]. Aside from this, for humans to accept and trust the machines require relevant evidences of success but in the case of future plans for Asimo, the humanoid robot was expected to blend in the social environment, interact with people and play more important roles in society [3]. On humanoids, research projects from various disciplines including the social sciences have shown current and adequate literature with regards the human-like robot. However, perspectives from communities throughout the globe is still lacking. Recent research has shown that anthropomorphism represents a means to facilitate HRI. Under which conditions do people anthropomorphize robots and other nonhuman agents? This research question was investigated in an experiment that manipulated participants' anticipation of a prospective human-robot interaction (HRI) with a robot whose behavior was characterized by either low or high predictability. We examined effects of these factors on perceptions of anthropomorphism and acceptance of the robot. Innovatively, the present research demonstrates that anticipation of HRI with an unpredictable agent increased anthropomorphic inferences and acceptance of the robot. Implications for future research on psychological determinants of anthropomorphism
Rugayah Hashim and Hanafiah Yussof / Procedia Computer Science 105 (2017) 359 – 364
are discussed. In a social inclusiveness context, Wood et al [10] pointed out that robots have been used in a variety of education, therapy or entertainment contexts. Besides that, in social interactions, humanoids responsivenessbehaving towards human beings require major role interactions and effective communication [11]. This shows that it is possible to train humanoids in other social skills, in particular those related to religion and spirituality. However, the issue here is not the ability of the machines to do so, but the ethical circumstances with regards to the family environment, culture and tradition in a Moslem household. Nonetheless, the existence and design of humanoid robots are for service purposes to work in close harmony with humans [12]. In this case too, Tondu [12] emphasized the consequences of anthropomorphism for both the technical and psychological aspects where the former refers to the technical realization of a human-like machine in a human environment and the latter “corresponds to the classical psychological meaning producing peculiar anthropomorphic projections on a nonhuman being”. For the scope on children with autism, humanizing the humanoids will greatly assist in the rehabilitation and augmentation of the children’s social skills in preparation for adulthood and independence. In attaining social inclusiveness, these children will benefit from the extra training by using the humanoids through a method called social robotics [13]. In their review paper, Pennisi et al [13], provided a systematic review on successful projects and new developments in autism and social robotics. Some breakthroughs were reported such as reduced repetitive and stereotyped behaviours, improved spontaneous language during therapy sessions [13]. Though most studies in this area are inadequate, the pursuance of this idea could be a landmark success on using humanoids for autism therapy. Another unique, social act is that of humanoids as religious and spiritual machines, for example, that of a “priest” presiding over the nuptials of a couple in Japan [14]. Although the argument was on the validity on the rites of that particular passage, the newlyweds are of the opinion that so long as the rites have been given due diligence, there is no issue at all [14]. On the contrary, other monotheistic religion, such as Islam, would not allow a humanoid to replace a “kadhi” to solemnize a wedding ceremony as certain religious issues cannot be compromised.
Social
•Behavioral •Perception •HRI
Spiritual
•Religion •Culture •Tradition
Ethics
•Moral •Values
Fig. 1 Framework on humanizing humanoids for social inclusiveness
On the theoretical framework for the study, the social theory was deemed appropriate as an analytical base in examining social phenomena [15], which in this case is on humanizing humanoids for social inclusiveness of children with autism. As noted above, this phenomenon is new to the Malaysian society. Gradual acceptance through accurate information will allow this Asian society to understand the change, social behavior and
361
362
Rugayah Hashim and Hanafiah Yussof / Procedia Computer Science 105 (2017) 359 – 364
transformation with regards to using robots in households that have children with special needs [16]. Furthermore, the theoretical underpinnings will provide the emergence of a tentative, new psychological constructs [17], on human-robot interaction [18] from the analyses of the interviews and observations (see Figure 1). 3. Method A qualitative method was used for this study such that the first phase was on literature review as this research area is still in its infancy in Malaysia. Furthermore, as noted by [19], the study begins, not with hypotheses to be proved or disproved, but with a flexible plan to explore a phenomenon after which inductive reasoning was used to draw conclusions. Only when all the literature were amassed was thematic analyses applied relative to the social theory. The second phase was followed by repeated interviews and observations. For the latter activities, weekly visits were done for more than a year. The interviews too were conducted at the convenience of the teachers and guardians for confirmation of responses received in the earlier meetings. To ensure conformation to protocol and individual consent for all the interactions, the ethics statement is shown below. For this paper, the literature reviewed spanned thirty months resulting in accumulated expanse of relevant sources. These were scrutinized for pattern similarities through word coding which were then triangulated with the analyses from the interview transcripts [20]. The analyses, in most part, were done manually through repeated readings and notations; these specific strategies for analysis in stages were centered on the work of Miles and Huberman (1994) [21]. Later, the analyses were tried on the NVivo software for comparative evaluations of the thematic findings. With regards to the second part of the research approach, the interviews were conducted using a semi-structured question guideline. The respondents were the teachers based at the special integrated program classes at the Sekolah Kebangsaan Raja Muda, Section 4, Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia. Although consensus sampling was applied, the interviews stopped at the seventh respondent as the information received have reached saturation, that is, the same responses were received from the last respondent. As the questions were guided, the analyses of the interview transcripts were through word similarities, that is, the detection of patterns that were later compared with themes generated through literature review. Thus, the themes derived were almost similar to that as shown in Fig. 1. Repeated confirmations of the responses were conducted with the same respondents, therefore, the emerging word patterns were verified as shown in Fig. 2, in the next section. 4. Findings The findings (Fig. 2) revealed other variables or antecedents from social inclusiveness such as, acceptance, evidence of success, influence, attitude, viability, compliance (religious compliance, suitability of cultural values and compliance to ethical norms). The implications to these findings will be elucidated in the next section.
Social inclusiveness
• Acceptance • Evidence of success • Influence • Attitude • Viability • Compliance • Religion • Cultural values • Ethical norms
Fig. 2. Confirmation of emergent variables on social inclusiveness.
Rugayah Hashim and Hanafiah Yussof / Procedia Computer Science 105 (2017) 359 – 364
5. Implications and Conclusion The six variables and three subsets (see Fig. 2) showed the necessary elements for humanizing humanoids in attesting the feasibility of using robots for social skill augmentation of the children with autism. All the variables are inter-related. For instance the first variable is acceptance where all the respondents insisted that having a humanoid in the classroom requires a changed mindset among the teachers and the students. Acceptance is not limited to these two categories of stakeholders; other parties with vested interests are the school administrators and most importantly, the parents and guardians to these special-needs’ students. Henceforth, ethical elements and norms must be complied with. To ensure acceptance, there must be evidence of success and the teachers are insistent on this. The teachers would like the see other similar schools that have used humanoids in the classroom and that the assistive technology have gained credible grounds in education and social skills of the students. In doing so, there must be positive influence for the humanoid to substitute some parts of a teacher’s workload in social-skilling the students. The attitude of all the stakeholders are very important in gaining acceptance and achieving success in humanizing the humanoids for social inclusiveness. Much like the evidence of success, the viability of the project must be shown. With ethical compliance, religious and cultural values have to be conformed. In fact, these two elements are crucial in ensuring social inclusiveness. Hence it can be concluded that in humanizing the humanoids, other basic, psychological needs of the stakeholders are important in ensuring that the assistive technology could prove as an innovative element in education and social skill augmentation of children with special needs. Specifically, children with autism requires a customized and personalized teaching environment. To inculcate and internalize social skills require repeated activities which the humanoid could provide. Yet the ultimate outcome is the social inclusiveness part in preparing these special-needs children for their later life and adulthood and blend with society. 6. Ethics Statement The Institute of Research and Management Innovation (IRMI) at Universiti Teknologi MARA has approved the design of the fundamental research project as the research presented no more than minimal risk of harm to the participants and the data were analyzed anonymously. While no written consent was obtained, participants from the school acknowledge their support by allowing themselves to be interviewed and the students at the various classes were observed regularly. Acknowledgements Due acknowledgement is directed to the Ministry of Higher Education, Malaysia for funding the research project through the Niche Research Grant Scheme (P13/2013), as well as the support received from Universiti Teknologi MARA. Also, we would like to thank the teachers at the Special Education Integration Program (PPKI), Sekolah Kebangsaan (SK) Raja Muda, Section 4, Shah Alam, Selangor for their cooperation towards the success of the data collection processes. References 1. Rodriguez, I., Astigarraga, A., Jauregi, E., Ruiz, T., and Lazkano, E.: ‘Humanizing NAO robot teleoperation using ROS’, in Editor (Ed.)^(Eds.): ‘Book Humanizing NAO robot teleoperation using ROS’ (2014, edn.), pp. 179-186 2. Mutlu, B., Osman, S., Forlizzi, J., Hodgins, J., and Kiesler, S.: ‘Perceptions of ASIMO: an exploration on co-operation and competition with humans and humanoid robots’, in Editor (Ed.)^(Eds.): ‘Book Perceptions of ASIMO: an exploration on co-operation and competition with humans and humanoid robots’ (ACM, 2006, edn.), pp. 351-352 3. Hirai, K.: ‘The Honda humanoid robot: development and future perspective’, Industrial Robot: An International Journal, 1999, 26, (4), pp. 260-266 4. Fridin, M., and Belokopytov, M.: ‘Acceptance of socially assistive humanoid robot by preschool and elementary school teachers’, Computers in Human Behavior, 2014, 33, pp. 23-31
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