Socially Assistive Robot

A robot designed to assist people through social interaction rather than physical manipulation. Socially assistive robots use embodied presence, movement, and social behaviors such as gaze, gestures, and expressions to provide support in contexts including therapy, education, companionship, and communication. In accessibility, SARs have been explored as tools to support children with autism, facilitate communication for AAC users, assist people with dementia, and mediate social interactions. Unlike purely functional assistive robots, SARs are designed to engage users socially, leveraging the human tendency to attribute social qualities to embodied, moving agents.