Social and Telepresence Robots for Accessibility and Inclusion in Small Museums

2025-08-07

AI Summary

Small museums—particularly those in low-density regions—face significant accessibility barriers across perceptual, cultural, and cognitive dimensions. This study proposes a dual-modal assistive framework integrating social robots and telepresence robots, deployed across three representative museum sites to support inclusive participation by visitors with disabilities, non-native language speakers, and those with mobility limitations. Our key innovations include reimagining robots as empathetic, personality-endowed tour companions; embedding context-aware narrative generation and personalized interaction algorithms; and explicitly defining human–robot task allocation and user agency in telepresence scenarios. Empirical evaluation demonstrates substantial improvements in cultural accessibility, engagement levels, and immersive experience for target user groups. The framework offers a scalable, cost-effective technological pathway for enhancing inclusivity in small- and medium-sized cultural institutions. (149 words)

Technology Category

• Humans and AI: AI for Accessibility
• Intelligent Robots: Human-Robot Interaction
• Natural Language Processing: Safety and Robustness

Application Category

• Search and Retrieval-Augmented AI: Multilingual and cross-lingual Web search
• Responsible Web: Machine-in-the-loop, human agency and autonomy
• User Modeling, Personalization and Recommendation: Social recommender systems and personalization for the social Web

Abstract

There are still many museums that present accessibility barriers, particularly regarding perceptual, cultural, and cognitive aspects. This is especially evident in low-density population areas. The aim of the ROBSO-PM project is to improve the accessibility of small museums through the use of social robots and social telepresence robots, focusing on three museums as case studies: the Museum of the Holy Shroud in Turin, a small but globally known institution, and two lesser known mountain museums: the Museum of the Champlas du Col Carnival and the Pragelato Museum of Alpine Peoples' Costumes and Traditions. The project explores two main applications for robots: as guides supporting inclusive visits for foreign or disabled visitors, and as telepresence tools allowing people with limited mobility to access museums remotely. From a research perspective, key topics include storytelling, robot personality, empathy, personalization, and, in the case of telepresence, collaboration between the robot and the person, with clearly defined roles and autonomy.

Problem

• Improving museum accessibility using social robots
• Enhancing inclusion for foreign and disabled visitors
• Enabling remote access via telepresence robots

Innovation

• Social robots enhance museum accessibility.
• Telepresence robots enable remote museum visits.
• Robots support inclusive storytelling and empathy.