Culturally Sensitive Social Robotics for Africa

CSSR4Africa is a three-year research project to develop culturally sensitive social robotics for Africa. It has the following objectives.

1. Identify the verbal and non-verbal social and cultural norms of human interaction that are prevalent in countries in Africa.
2. Encapsulate them in the behavioural patterns of social robots so that they can engage with African people in a manner that is consistent with their expectations of acceptable social interaction.
3. Demonstrate these culturally-sensitive social robot behaviours in two use cases: one for giving a tour of a university laboratory, and one for assisting and giving directions to visitors at the reception of a university.

In order to ensure that the project objectives can be achieved in the time available, we restrict the scope of the project to the cultures and social practices that are prevalent in Rwanda and South Africa.