Current Studies

Principal Investigators: Prof. Moojan Ghafurian

Co-Principal Investigators: Prof. Yue Hu

Student Investigators: Kshin Patel

The Emotionally Intelligent and Trustworthy Agents Research Lab & the Active and Interactive Robotics Research Lab are conducting a study exploring the integration of social robots into older adult care. Study objectives include engaging older adults through focus groups with a participatory design approach to align the robot's features with user preferences and build user trust. The aim is to develop a user-centered social robot system that supports older adults in health management and social interactions while reducing the burden on caregivers through meaningful design of a social robot. 

For more information, please refer to this page for more information. For further questions or to sign up for the study, please contact Kshin Patel at kk9patel@uwaterloo.ca.

This study has been reviewed and received ethics clearance through a University of Waterloo Research Ethics Board (REB #47168). If you have questions for the Board, contact the Office of Research Ethics, toll-free at 1-833-643-2379 (Canada and USA), 1-519-888-4440, or reb@uwaterloo.ca.

Principal Investigators: Prof. Moojan Ghafurian   

Student Investigators: Shiyao Zhang 

The Emotionally Intelligent and Trustworthy Agents Research Lab is seeking volunteers for a study in which participants interact with a robot playing a number-guessing game. In this study, we aim to understand how you interact with a social robot in a teaming scenario, and what your experiences of the process and impressions of the robots. The goal of this study is to understand how we can improve human-robot interaction. This study will take approximately 20–30 minutes in 1 in-person session.

To participate, you must be:

1. 18+ years old
2. Comfortable reading and speaking in English.  

Please refer to this page for more detailed information regarding participation. For further questions or to sign up for this study, please reach out to Shiyao Zhang, PhD student in Systems Design Engineering, s873zhan@uwaterloo.ca. 

This study has been reviewed and received ethics clearance through a University of Waterloo Research Ethics Board (REB #48147). If you have questions for the Board, contact the Office of Research Ethics, toll-free at 1-833-643-2379 (Canada and USA), 1-519-888-4440, or reb@uwaterloo.ca. 

Principal Investigators: Prof. Moojan Ghafurian  

Co-Principal Investigators: Prof. Elizabeth Nilsen 

Student Investigators: Andrea Chakma 

The Emotionally Intelligent and Trustworthy Agents Research Lab is looking for volunteers to take part in a study that aims to provide comments and support the development of a series of games for emotion knowledge training in children using social robots. As a participant, you will be taking part in up to three focus groups and/or individual interviews, speaking about your experience working with children in this field and providing feedback and insights on game design using social robots. Each session will take up to one hour and will be scheduled on separate days.

The inclusion criteria for the study are: 

• Participants must have at least three months or the equivalent of full-time experience working directly with children in supporting behavioural, emotional, and social challenges. 

• Participants should possess a certification or degree in the area (i.e., Psychology, Early Childhood Development, etc.).  

OR  

• Graduate students who are enrolled in a clinical psychology program and are specializing in child psychology.  

For more information or to sign up for this study, please reach out to Andrea Chakma, PhD student in Systems Design Engineering, andrea.chakma@uwaterloo.ca.

This study has been reviewed and received ethics clearance through a University of Waterloo Research Ethics Board (REB #47966). If you have questions for the Board, contact the Office of Research Ethics, toll-free at 1-833-643-2379 (Canada and USA), 1-519-888-4440, or reb@uwaterloo.ca.