{"id":5034,"date":"2024-05-20T21:41:00","date_gmt":"2024-05-20T21:41:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new.www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/?post_type=purduetoday&#038;p=5034"},"modified":"2025-03-11T09:33:13","modified_gmt":"2025-03-11T13:33:13","slug":"more-than-machines-computer-scientist-prepares-robots-to-improve-human-lives","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/2024\/Q2\/more-than-machines-computer-scientist-prepares-robots-to-improve-human-lives","title":{"rendered":"More than machines: Computer scientist prepares robots to improve human lives"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"purdue-initial-words-wrap\"><p class=\"purdue-initial-words wp-block-paragraph\">WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. &mdash;<\/p> \n<p>There is no avoiding robots. With increasing autonomy, satellites span the skies; vacuums vroom underfoot; and bots conduct surgery, deliver packages and explore the solar system.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Robot expert\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cs.purdue.edu\/people\/faculty\/sooyeonj.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Sooyeon Jeong<\/a>,\u00a0an assistant professor of computer science in Purdue University\u2019s\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/science\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">College of Science<\/a>, works in artificial intelligence to ensure that those robots are more friendly helpers to humans and less inscrutable interlopers, more R2-D2 than HAL, more Baymax than Terminator. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cMy goal, and the goal of my research group, is to design robots and AI that can have socially and emotionally natural interactions with people,\u201d Jeong said. \u201cI want anything I make or design to have a measurable positive impact on people\u2019s lives.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n    <div  class=\"purdue-home-quick-links-static \">\n        <div class=\"tagged-header-container\">\n\n            <h2 class=\"tagged-header\"><span>ADDITIONAL INFORMATION<\/span><\/h2>\n        \n        <\/div>\n\n       <ul class=\"quick-links-content\">\n                                        <li class=\"quick-link__item\">\n                                                                <a class=\"quick-link__link\"\n                                    href=\"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/releases\/2023\/Q2\/approaching-artificial-intelligence-how-purdue-is-leading-the-research-and-advancement-of-ai-technologies.html\" target=\"_blank\">\n                                    Approaching artificial intelligence: How Purdue is leading the research and advancement of AI technologies                                <\/a>\n                            <\/li>\n                                                <li class=\"quick-link__item\">\n                                                                <a class=\"quick-link__link\"\n                                    href=\"https:\/\/dl.acm.org\/doi\/abs\/10.1145\/3611683\" target=\"_blank\">\n                                    Living with robotic companions for better psychological well-being                                <\/a>\n                            <\/li>\n                            <\/ul>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To that end, she has created social robots for hospitalized children and is working on robots to help stroke patients recover their power of speech, a virtual avatar that empowers Latinas in Greater Lafayette and in Chicago to learn about their cancer diagnoses, and robots whose goal is to improve human health and life.&nbsp;Watch her discuss her goals and research \u2014 alongside her robots \u2014 in this&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=qQNjc9cVUP4\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">video<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"purdue-home-video-embed \">\n        <div class=\"section has-none-background has-padding-top-small has-padding-bottom-none has-no-sidepadding\">\n        <div class=\"container is-16by9\">\n            \n            <div class=\"purdue-home-cta-card purdue-home-cta-card--horizontal purdue-home-cta-card--video\">\n    <div class=\"image is-16by9\">\n                    <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"purdue-home-background-image\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/qQNjc9cVUP4\/maxresdefault.jpg\" \/>\n            <\/div>\n    <div class=\"flex-container flex-container--align-center lyt-playbtn\">\n        <button class=\"playbtn\">\n            <span class=\"cta-link purdue-home-cta-card__link\">Watch Video<\/span>\n            <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"cta-icon cta-icon--play\" src=\"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-content\/themes\/purdue-home-theme\/imgs\/play_icon_gold.svg\" alt=\"\">\n        <\/button>                                       \n    <\/div>\n    <div class=\"iframe-container is-sr-only\">\n        <div class=\"youtube-video\" id=\"qQNjc9cVUP4\" data-title=\"\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/qQNjc9cVUP4?rel=0&#038;autoplay=1&#038;enablejsapi=1&#038;mute=1&#038;origin=https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\"><\/div>\n    <\/div>\n<\/div>        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>I, for one, welcome our new robot \u2026 health care providers<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Robots, or virtual agents, are an excellent choice for jobs that would be dangerous, expensive, difficult or time-consuming for humans.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Take, for example, people who have lost their power of speech after having a stroke or brain injury, a condition called aphasia. To recover their speech, they need hours of intensive speech therapy and practice every day. But they often don\u2019t have that much access to a speech therapist. That\u2019s where a robot can come in.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A robot can focus completely on being present for the person, on repeating words as often as necessary. It never gets bored, never gets impatient and says words the exact same way every single time. If a robot speech therapist can reside in patients\u2019 homes and provide daily support, patients might progress much more quickly when they can get in to see their human speech therapist. Jeong\u2019s lab is collaborating with&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/hhs\/slhs\/aphasia\/\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Purdue\u2019s Aphasia Research Laboratory<\/a>&nbsp;to explore solutions.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cRobots aren\u2019t a replacement for speech therapists, or for anyone,\u201d Jeong said. \u201cBut they can fill the gap between what\u2019s available to patients and what the patients need. That\u2019s what our research is currently addressing: Can social robots provide a similar level of engagement and intervention effects as a human can or could?\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Another project aims to help Latinas with breast cancer in the Greater Lafayette and Chicago areas. Collaborating with Francisco Iacobelli at Northeastern Illinois University, who is a Latino professor of computer science, Jeong is creating a virtual agent that can engage in judgment-free conversations with Latina breast cancer survivors and help them improve their health literacy.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The virtual agent fills the role of a knowledgeable confidant \u2014 someone it\u2019s impossible to embarrass, and someone who can patiently and correctly give out medical information, help flag what symptoms could be problematic, and encourage patients when they need to contact their doctors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe wanted them to be able to have something more like a peer, a nonjudgmental voice they can have conversations or interactions with to help inform them and reinforce their knowledge,\u201d Jeong said. \u201cTo do that, we really have to understand their language and culture to be able to put them at ease and help effectively.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Computer communication<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The first computers were the size of rooms and required humans to communicate with them with hole-punched notecards. From there, machines evolved to communicate via binary code and keyboards, while a new generation of AI agents, computer programs and other robots communicate with a more organic, natural language. Jeong envisions a future where robots incorporate social and emotional cues into their communication, as well as adapting to respond to nonverbal and tonal cues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To a layperson, the word \u201crobot\u201d conjures images of a physical creation \u2014 something that moves, rolls or otherwise interacts with the physical world. However, computer scientists also work with robots that occupy a more virtual world, including virtual assistants like Apple\u2019s Siri, Amazon\u2019s Alexa and Iron Man\u2019s J.A.R.V.I.S. Jeong\u2019s research works with both. She uses whatever mode she thinks will best fit the problem being addressed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI\u2019m very interested in people who are left out of current support systems,\u201d Jeong said. She collaborates with other scientists across a range of fields that include audiology, psychology, medicine, public health and gerontology. Her collaborators help identify problems that her robots and virtual assistants could offer solutions to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI realized that many of these machines \u2014 robots and AI \u2014 they are designed in a lab,\u201d she said.\u201cBut there are all these differences between the real world and the lab. I wanted to focus on developing robots that can interact with people and help them in real-life settings.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In fact, one of the first projects Jeong worked on as a doctoral student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology was presaged by her interests in robots as a child.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWhen I was around 11, I watched \u2018AI\u2019 by Steven Spielberg, and I was fascinated by the teddy robot. It wasn\u2019t telling the protagonist what to do; it was a more supportive role. It was acting a little like Jiminy Cricket from \u2018Pinocchio,\u2019 nudging the character to make better decisions, being a sort of confidant,\u201d she said. \u201cI saw that, and I just remember thinking, \u2018Oh, I would love to have something like that for myself.\u2019 And so I ended up working on something similar, developing a teddy bear robot for very, very sick hospitalized kids in pediatric hospitals.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Helping robots read the room<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Putting people at ease is a huge hurdle for robots. While many humans innately talk to and anthropomorphize inanimate objects, creating a robot that is both trustworthy and helpful is something researchers are still working on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When a friend asks how you\u2019re doing, there is a vast distance between \u201cFine,\u201d with a weary tone, slumped shoulders and a sigh, and \u201cFine!\u201d with a grin and an upbeat tone. To many computers, those two answers would be identical. They contain the exact same letters in the exact same order. But a human with social intelligence can easily discern the difference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Teaching machines to do the same can help them help humans. After all, sometimes the message of the dejected \u201cfine\u201d is actually much more nuanced. Sometimes it really means, \u201cNot at all fine, but I\u2019m tired and dispirited and don\u2019t want to bother anyone with it, but if you\u2019re really interested, I would be glad to talk.\u201d The latter message would be vital to a robot assigned with helping, for example, a child with emotional turbulence or a senior citizen with medical issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jeong explains that robots don\u2019t just need to listen to what a person is saying; they need to engage in active listening. They need to mirror behavior and tone and understand how to react and respond.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWhen you are talking to another person, there is so much communication going on that is not verbal,\u201d Jeong said. \u201cThey\u2019re nodding, smiling, encouraging you to continue, signaling that they\u2019re listening. They\u2019re also gauging what appropriate reactions are. I realized the robot I developed during graduate school had these shortcomings, these gaps in the interaction. People who were conversing with this robot were sharing all these thoughts \u2014 a whole story \u2014 with the robot, and it said, \u2018Thanks for sharing!\u2019 and then moved on. That kind of interaction doesn\u2019t help foster a long-term relationship that can potentially benefit the human.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jeong envisions a future where robots and virtual agents can work alongside humans, assisting with physical therapy, tutoring, encouraging independence, and supporting people in living happy and healthy lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThese robots and AI agents really need social and emotional intelligence to really help people at the right time and in the right way,\u201d she said. \u201cFor instance, robots tasked with helping people be productive or safe should be able to gauge when to interrupt otherwise busy people, when to proactively engage them and ask questions. If an undergrad student needs a study buddy, the robot needs to be able to assess their feelings and figure out when they\u2019re stressed and need a break or when they\u2019re distracted and need help turning off YouTube Shorts and getting back on track.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Not only do robots need to be able to read humans, but they also need to be approachable and have the right morphology for each application context. For example, would older adults find it more helpful and engaging during a speech therapy session if a robot had humanlike facial features or a cartoonlike face with big arm gestures? Jeong and her lab are investigating the impact of a robot\u2019s design on people\u2019s trust and sense of comfort to avoid the eerie \u201cuncanny valley\u201d effect, in which the robot is too human and not human enough all at the same time.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In her previous research, Jeong designed robots to look small and cute, like dogs or toys, so even a sick child in a hospital could approach, and not ones that too closely mimic human body language and facial expressions.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cAs robots become more available in people\u2019s daily lives, we need to make sure they\u2019re helping in real ways, long term, in the real world,\u201d Jeong said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This work is part of Purdue\u2019s\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/onehealth\/\">One Health<\/a>\u00a0initiative, and AI is a foundational component of the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/computes\/institute-for-physical-artificial-intelligence\/\">Institute for Physical Artificial Intelligence<\/a>, a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/computes\/\">Purdue Computes<\/a>\u00a0initiative.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>About Purdue University<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Purdue University is a public research institution demonstrating excellence at scale. Ranked among top 10 public universities and with two colleges in the top four in the United States, Purdue discovers and disseminates knowledge with a quality and at a scale second to none. More than 105,000 students study at Purdue across modalities and locations, including nearly 50,000 in person on the West Lafayette campus. Committed to affordability and accessibility, Purdue\u2019s main campus has frozen tuition 13 years in a row. See how Purdue never stops in the persistent pursuit of the next giant leap \u2014 including its first comprehensive urban campus in Indianapolis, the new Mitchell E. Daniels, Jr. School of Business, and Purdue Computes \u2014 at&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/president\/strategic-initiatives\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\">https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/president\/strategic-initiatives<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. &mdash; There is no avoiding robots. With increasing autonomy, satellites span the skies; vacuums vroom underfoot; and bots conduct surgery, deliver packages and explore the solar system. Robot expert\u00a0Sooyeon Jeong,\u00a0an assistant professor of computer science in Purdue<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":5035,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[315,263,316,7],"tags":[],"department":[32],"source":[35],"purdue_today_topic":[],"coauthors":[77],"class_list":["post-5034","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-one-health","category-purdue-computes","category-prf","category-research-excellence","department-science","source-purdue-research-foundation"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5034","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5034"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5034\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12704,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5034\/revisions\/12704"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5035"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5034"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5034"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5034"},{"taxonomy":"department","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/department?post=5034"},{"taxonomy":"source","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/source?post=5034"},{"taxonomy":"purdue_today_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/purdue_today_topic?post=5034"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=5034"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}