Abstract

OJEDA-MISSES, Manuel Alejandro; SILVA-OCHOA, Haydée  and  SORIA-LOPEZ, Alberto. Ludibot: A gesture-based human-mobile robot interface. Ing. invest. y tecnol. [online]. 2021, vol.22, n.3.  Epub Aug 03, 2021. ISSN 2594-0732.  https://doi.org/10.22201/fi.25940732e.2021.22.3.021.

Ludibot, a mobile robot based on the Kinect v2 device, seeks to take advantage of human-machine gestural interaction for foreign language learning purposes. This project combines robotics with game studies and language and culture teaching to develop an interaction platform and playful applications for formal and informal language learning situations. This paper details the components of Ludibot and discusses the main aspects related to the control of the interactive human-robot mobile interface. Subsequently, it presents the structure and the control law of the interface and describes the first game developed, focused on the playful learning of vocabulary related to body parts in French. The preliminary results of the experimental tests reveal a high pedagogical potential, related to the novel and interactive character of the developed tools, whose use is possible to learn quickly and intuitively. Ludibot also has a high potential for adaptation in terms of the languages used, the linguistic level of the users, the degree of formality of the learning context, the possible special needs of the players, among others. However, there are still tests to be carried out in real situations, with Spanish-speaking high school students, in the classroom and in the media library. Planned for the beginning of the 2020-2021 school year, these tests had to be postponed due to the global health contingency. The main originality of Ludibot lies in the deliberately multidisciplinary approach chosen, as well as in the possibility of providing effective but simple, adaptable and affordable technological tools, in order to promote the critical dissemination of new learning paradigms.

Keywords : User interfaces; human computer interaction; mobile robots; game and play; language learning; gesture recognition; Kinect v2.

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