Social Robot

A robot designed to interact with people in socially meaningful ways, using verbal communication, gestures, and responsive behaviors to engage users. In accessibility contexts, social robots like SoftBank's Pepper have shown potential as confidence-building mentors, health coaches, and social facilitators for people with intellectual disabilities and older adults. Research suggests their social presence enables a form of gentle, non-prescriptive support—encouragement and reminders delivered through an embodied social agent—that differs qualitatively from wearable devices or screen-based interfaces and may be more acceptable to some users.