Aisoy
Aisoy was the first social robot I used with Juan. I created early interactions focused on greetings, social stories, emotional recognition, communication, and engagement.
Social Robots, Autism Support, and Healthcare Education
Social robotics became deeply personal to me long before it became an academic or professional interest. What began as a mother’s search for ways to connect with my autistic son eventually grew into years of work exploring how embodied technology can support communication, learning, patient education, and human connection.
How It Began
My journey into social robotics began at home. After years of searching for ways to better connect with my son Juan, I discovered research and videos showing children with autism responding to social robots. That discovery led me to purchase an Aisoy robot and begin learning how to create simple interactions using block-based programming.
The first time Juan responded to the robot, repeated its words, and then looked back at me to share the moment, I experienced something I had been longing for which was true connection. That moment changed the direction of my life and became the beginning of my work in social robotics, autism support, instructional design, and eventually healthcare education.
This was the first interaction I built for Juan. I was stunned as I heard him speak simple words and phrases. Additionally, to my dismay, his eye contact improved. To this day, "Good Talking Juan" is one of his favorite robot activities.
Juan would return home from school each day, immediately running to the robot to play. This short routine taught Juan some basic colors that were displayed on Aisoy's heart light. Notice the social referencing that Juan engages in just to be sure I am watching too!
As time went on, I looked for ways to incorporate manipulatives and other activities into his robot-assisted learning routines. I am thankful for the Melissa and Doug toys and incorported them into many of my robot routines I created for Juan.
Social Robots I Have Worked With
NAO
NAO helped expand my understanding of social robots as tools for interaction, joint attention, movement, imitation, and structured learning activities.
Furhat
Furhat became my primary platform for more advanced interaction design because of its flexible voices, animated faces, conversational capabilities, and ability to support healthcare education projects.
From Autism Support to Healthcare Education
Over time, my work with social robots expanded from autism-related communication and social learning activities into healthcare education. As a registered nurse, I became interested in how social robots might support patients who need more time, repetition, and encouragement to understand complex health information.
This interest eventually became the foundation for my Master’s Project, A Social Robot as a Health Educator for Heart Failure Patients Using the Teach-Back Method. In that project, I designed and evaluated a social robot named Sheila to teach heart failure patients key concepts related to medications, sodium restriction, daily weights, symptom monitoring, and when to seek help.
Featured Videos
Selected demonstrations, interviews, and project videos related to social robotics, autism support, and healthcare education.
Furhat Interaction Demo
Demonstration of conversational interaction design using the Furhat social robot platform.
Autism Support Activities
Example of a robot-assisted interaction focused on teaching Juan the purpose of deodorant with content provided by a peer.
Photo Gallery
Images documenting my work with social robots, their use in autism support activities, and healthcare education.
Aisoy Robot Interaction
NAO Social Robot Storytime
Sheila, the Social Robot Health Educator
Articles and Publications
Publications and media coverage related to my work in social robotics, autism support, and healthcare education.
BBC Mundo
Feature article discussing the ways robots and artificial intelligence may support children with autism, including my experience using social robots with Juan.
Read ArticleFurhat Robotics
Article highlighting my work with Furhat in autism support and healthcare education.
Furhat Robotics Opinion PostAcademic Publication
Longing to Connect explores the long-term, in-home use of social robots and their perceived role in bonding, attachment, communication, and social learning.
Conference PaperAgencia SINC
Spanish-language article describing the connection between Aisoy, social robotics, and my work with Juan in Kansas.
Read ArticleGitHub and Project Materials
As I continue developing my portfolio, I plan to share selected social robotics projects, code samples, interaction designs, and supporting materials through GitHub. These materials will document my ongoing work with social robot dialogue, instructional design, healthcare education, and human-centered interaction.