Associate Professor American Public University System
Robots are increasingly becoming part of everyday life, not only as tools for automation but as interactive systems that support learning, understanding, and accessibility. This presentation brings together findings from two related research studies that explore how robots can enhance human learning through physical interaction and multisensory feedback. The first study examines the use of educational robots that provide both visual and kinesthetic feedback to support programming comprehension. Rather than observing code execution on a screen alone, participants physically interacted with a robot while watching it move. The results showed that this hands-on interaction improved participants’ ability to interpret program behavior, recall command sequences, and understand spatial outcomes compared to visual-only approaches. These findings suggest that embodied interaction with robots can strengthen key cognitive skills such as debugging, spatial reasoning, and conceptual understanding, particularly in STEM education settings. The second study focuses on the design of a robot-assisted tactile display, or cobot, developed to help blind and visually impaired users access and explore virtual diagrams. By combining a low-cost mobile robot with tactile pin displays and haptic guidance through shared control, the system allows users to independently explore graphical information. Early user studies indicate that robotic assistance improves usability, reduces cognitive effort, and provides more effective access to spatial information—an important factor in education, employment, and everyday tasks for visually impaired individuals. Taken together, these studies show that robots can play a meaningful role beyond automation. When designed to work in partnership with humans through physical embodiment, multisensory feedback, and shared control robots can support learning, promote inclusion, and expand access to information. This work highlights the potential for robotics to shape how people learn, interact with technology, and experience the world around them.
