Adaptive and intuitive interactions with socially-competent pedagogical assistant robots

The paper presents a novel framework for including social competence in pedagogical assistant robots based on recent social neuroscience investigations. An educational model describing the interplay of social interaction and social observation in typical children and children with autistic spectrum conditions (ASC) is proposed. The behavioral results of a study of human gaze movements while viewing a robot tutor are briefly presented. The implications for design of adaptive and intuitive robotic tutoring systems as pedagogical assistants for typical children and children with special educational needs are discussed.