Lancaster Researcher Studies Child–Robot Interaction Dynamics

Elmira Yadollahi, assistant professor of computer science at Lancaster University, discussed how children interact with and relate to robots on the Robot Talk podcast on 6 February 2026. She described research on explainability in robotics, multimodal perception, expectation management, trust and AI literacy, and noted her work organising workshops on explainability and child-centred robot design.
Key Points
- 1Describes Elmira Yadollahi's research on child–robot interaction, explainability, multimodal perception, and AI literacy.
- 2Highlights significance of expectation management and trust to improve children's understanding and acceptance of robots.
- 3Advises designers to prioritise explainability and educational workshops to boost AI literacy among child users.
Scoring Rationale
Useful firsthand academic insights into child–robot interaction; limited novelty and single-source depth reduce the story's broader technical impact.
Sources
Public references used for this report.
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