Elective Module „Soziale Roboter“

The elective module „Soziale Roboter“ („Social Robots“) by Prof. Dr. Oliver Bendel will be held again from April 15 to 17, 2025 at the FHNW in Olten. It is primarily aimed at prospective information systems specialists, but prospective business economists can also take part. Dr. Amol Deshmukh has been invited as a guest speaker. He previously worked for the University of Glasgow and now conducts research at ETH Zurich. In his lecture, he will present the findings from his paper „Leveraging Social Robots to Promote Hand Hygiene: A Cross-Cultural and Socio-Economic Study of Children in Diverse School Settings“. Unitree Go2, Alpha Mini, Cozmo, Vector, Aibi, Furby and Booboo from Oliver Bendel’s private Social Robots Lab will also be on site. Social Robotics Girl, a so-called GPT who specializes in this topic, will be available as a tutor throughout the event. Basic works are „Soziale Roboter“ (2021) and „300 Keywords Soziale Robotik“ (2021). At the end of the elective module, students design social robots – also with the help of generative AI – that they find useful, meaningful, or simply attractive. The elective modules have been offered since 2021 and are very popular.

Abb.: Oliver Bendel bei einem Wahlmodul mit NAO