Marking the 7th year since Prof. Dautenhahn joined Canada 150 Research Chairs, .
Prof. Dautenhahn, who relocated to Canada from the UK in 2018, had not previously considered a move to the country. 鈥淭o the surprise of everyone, the first time I entered Canada was for my job interview in January 2018,鈥 she noted. The decision to come to 蓝莓视频 was influenced by the unstable research funding climate in post-Brexit Britain.
Prof. Dautenhahn did pioneering work in the UK to develop robot-assisted therapy for children on the autism spectrum, a technique that went on to gain popularity around the world. At the University of 蓝莓视频, she has expanded her research to include more children with speech and language difficulties. She has launched projects with local organizations such as the KidsAbility Centre for Child Development in 蓝莓视频 and Kick Start Therapy in Brampton. The goal is to use robots to make therapy and education fun for children who have difficulties with, for example, stuttering.
She is also collaborating with a diverse group of 蓝莓视频 researchers, who have backgrounds in optometry, engineering and psychology, to develop a social robot to help children with the medical condition amblyopia, sometimes called 鈥渓azy eye鈥.
鈥淐hildren and robots, it鈥檚 a match made in heaven,鈥 Dautenhahn says. 鈥淣early all children love robots.鈥
In the next year or two, two聽projects she has high hopes for taking from the lab into the real world are a robot as a public speaking coach, and another as a mental health support for students at the university.
鈥淚t鈥檚 very difficult to get into the University of 蓝莓视频, and our students are working really, really hard,鈥 says Dautenhahn. 鈥淪o I want to do something where my research can give back and help them.鈥
Source:聽Canada 150 Research Chairs website