Hardware Podcasts

Episode 143: Robots for children - Elmira Yadollahi

Robot Talk · 6 Feb 2026 · 35m · Episode 143

What this episode covers

Elmira Yadollahi, an Assistant Professor at Lancaster University, discusses the nuances of child-robot interaction, highlighting how children’s developmental stages and lack of technological baggage lead them to attribute more emotion and intention to robots than adults. She explains that designing for children requires managing expectations and ensuring transparency, as children are prone to overtrust or dismissal if a robot’s capabilities do not match its cues. Yadollahi’s research focuses on explainability and perspective-taking, aiming to teach children critical AI literacy and appropriate trust levels through transparent robot behavior.

Most relevant to

early-stage companies

Topics

Mentioned

Companies
Lancaster University, EPFL, Instituto Superior Técnico
Products
Baxter robot, Alexa, Siri

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