Words and images in action: the social robot Nao as a knowledge mediator

This work presents an aspect of interaction between children and robots, focusing on how the social robot Nao can “embody” concepts by activating words and images, in pursuit of “embodied semantics”. Teachers or educators construct a knowledge base that children explore by interacting with Nao, learning through a playful-educational process that incorporates multiple languages. Thus, the social robot becomes a tool for mediating knowledge. The applications can be adapted to various disciplines and cultural contexts, supporting the educational needs of users. The experience unfolds in two phases. The first involves training the robot: the educator creates a knowledge base, presenting and having Nao memorize cards containing images or words, and then enriching them with metadata. In the second phase, children directly interact with the social robot using the previously prepared cards. Through artificial vision and dynamic communication, Nao responds, elucidates the meaning, and “brings to life” the displayed concepts, facilitating their learning.