User-informed, robot-assisted social dining for people with motor impairments

June 1, 2023

A team of Allen School robotics researchers has published a paper on the finer aspects of robot-assisted dining with friends. “A meal should be memorable, and not for a potential faux pas from the machine,” notes co-author Patrícia Alves-Oliveira. Supported by a CREATE Student minigrant and in the spirit of “nothing about us without us,” they are working with the Tyler Schrenk Foundation to address the design of robot-assisted feeding systems that facilitate meaningful social dining experiences.

The team is led by Ph.D. student Amal Nanavati, postdoc Patrícia Alves-Oliveira and includes CREATE faculty member Maya Cakmak and community researcher Tyler Schrenk.

Teleconference screenshot of 4 people: Patrícia Alves-Oliveira (top left), Amal Nanavati (top right), Tyler Schrenk (bottom left), and an anonymous participant (bottom right)

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