Two robots walk into a bar… this may sound like the start of a good joke but it’s not far from the reality of events taking place this month.
On Wednesday 20 May researchers from the University of Kent’s School of Computing are bringing their robotic friends to The Foundry in Canterbury to meet the public as part of the international Pint of Science Festival.
The robots, which usually reside within the Cognitive Robotics and Autonomous Systems Lab on the Canterbury campus, are designed to help older adults with daily tasks, memory, and companionship, all using everyday language.
Dr Giovanni Masala, Senior Lecturer in Computer Science, explains: ‘With growing pressure on our healthcare system and an ageing population, the question isn’t whether we use robots in care, but how we design them to be truly supportive, respectful, and human-centred in a way that preserves human dignity.’
With artificial intelligence advancing at a pace, it brings new opportunities for the research team to develop robots that can meet human needs, making them smarter, more responsive and trustworthy so that they can support dementia care, learning and assisted independent living at home.
‘Social robots are not about replacing human relationships, but about supporting them. They can help us address growing concerns around loneliness and its impact on mental health by strengthening social connections where they are most needed,’ says Dr Ioanna Giorgi, Lecturer in Artificial Intelligence. ‘How we respond to them is shaped as much by us as by their design.’
One example is NAO, a small humanoid robot often used in research and education to study how people interact with robots socially, and widely used in schools, therapy settings, and care environments, such as autism support. The other is Buddy, a social companion robot with expressive behaviour, designed to provide gentle assistance in home and care environments, which uses facial expressions to mimic human emotions for a more engaging interaction.
At The Foundry, Dr Giovanni and Dr Giorgi will give members of the public the opportunity to see the robots in action with demos showing how people interact with robots, build trust, and how this technology can improve wellbeing, healthcare, learning, and daily life.
The event is part of Pint of Science, the world’s largest festival of public science talks which will see scientists take to the stage in more than 45 cities and 150 watering holes and cafes across the UK. Researchers from the University of Kent and Medway School of Pharmacy have joined forces to deliver events across three venues in Kent and Medway with topics ranging from chronic pain and sleep to the bugs hiding in our guts. The programme is organised by Dr Romina Vuono, Chair of Pint of Science at Medway School of Pharmacy, in partnership with University of Greenwich and University of Kent.
The events involving Kent researchers are:
- Living Well with Chronic Pain & Plastic Antibodies – 7pm, Monday 18 May (Man of Kent, Rochester)
- Why Snoring Matters & What Fruit Flies Teach Us? – 6:30pm, Tuesday 19 May (Sun Pier House, Medway Street)
- Gut bugs, Robots & the Science of Living Well – 7pm, Wednesday 20 May (The Foundry, Canterbury)
For more information about this event and others hosted by University of Kent researchers between 18-20 May, visit the Pint of Science website.