Sooyeon Jeong (Northwestern)-Living with Robotic Companions to Improve Psychological Wellbeing

Abstract: Today, we are surrounded by interactive technologies in our hands, on our wrists, and in our homes. However, most existing technologies act as useful tools for us, rather than collaborative and helpful companions that are integrated in our daily lives. In this talk, I will present unique opportunities for social robots in enhancing our health and wellbeing. Robotic companions were designed and deployed in the real world (college campus dormitories, and homes across the U.S.) to improve people’s psychological wellbeing and their motivation for health behavior change. I will highlight lessons learned from these long-term deployment studies and valuable insights on how interactive technologies can build relationships with us and personalize interventions and interaction experiences based on each individual’s needs, preferences, and behaviors for better support outcomes.

Bio: Sooyeon Jeung’s research focuses on designing and deploying interactive AI agents that can improve people’s lives by providing personalized support based on each user’s needs, traits and behaviors. She deploys these agents “in-the-wild” to evaluate how they build relationship/rapport with people over time and improve their wellbeing, health and learning. Sooyeon received a S.B. and a M.Eng. from the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) at MIT, and a S.M. and a Ph.D in Media Arts and Sciences from MIT Media Lab. Her doctoral dissertation was advised by Prof. Cynthia Breazeal who directs the Personal Robots Group. Currently, she is a T32 Postdoctoral Fellow at the Center for Behavioral Intervention Technologies in Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. In the fall, she will join the Purdue Computer Science Department as a tenure-track Assistant Professor in Fall 2023.