"I’m Not Touching You. It’s The Robot!": Inclusion Through A Touch-Based Robot Among Mixed-Visual Ability Children

Children with visual impairments often struggle to fully participate in group activities due to limited access to visual cues. They have difficulty perceiving what is happening, when, and how to act—leading to children with and without visual impairments being frustrated with the group activity, reducing mutual interactions. To address this, we created Touchibo, a tactile storyteller robot acting in a multisensory setting, encouraging touch-based interactions. Touchibo provides an inclusive space for group interaction as touch is a highly accessible modality in a mixed-visual ability context. In a study involving 107 children (37 with visual impairments), we compared Touchibo to an audio-only storyteller. Results indicate that Touchibo significantly improved children’s individual and group participation perception, sparking touch-based interactions and the storyteller was more likable and helpful. Our study highlights touch-based robots’ potential to enrich children’s social interactions by prompting interpersonal touch, particularly in mixed-visual ability settings.CCS CONCEPTS• Social and professional topics → Children; People with disabilities; • Human-centered computing → Haptic devices; Empirical studies in HCI.

1 INTRODUCTION

Children with visual impairment (VI) are increasingly educated alongside their sighted peers in mainstream schools. Yet, current practices and technologies often fail to provide inclusive learning experiences in groups with mixed visual abilities settings. Indeed, recent studies show that children with visual impairment face issues related to participation, lack of collaborative learning, reduced social engagement, and the potential for isolation [74], [78]. A common group activity in classrooms is storytelling. Storytelling plays a vital role in classroom learning, supporting cognitive development, language acquisition, emotional regulation, social growth, and imagination [40], [49], [58]. Stories also convey moral lessons, cultural values, emotions, and societal knowledge. In addition to its educational benefits, storytelling can provide a sense of community and belongingness as a shared group activity [41], [112]. However, traditional storytelling heavily relies on visual media, such as picture books and videos, which can exclude children with visual impairment from these educational and social benefits. Recent technological advancements enable the creation of immersive multisensory experiences that extend beyond traditional audio-visual methods [34], [51], [75]. The senses of touch and smell, which are accessible independently of visual ability, provide an opportunity to enhance the ambiance of a story with additional elements. For instance, they can evoke sensations like the comfort of a baking cake in a warm kitchen or the sharp discomfort of the spines of a sea urchin. Additionally, they can play a crucial role in promoting inclusive education and fostering social bonds through interpersonal touch [17], [35], [46]. This potential remains largely unexplored, particularly in settings with mixed visual ability.