New LU grad performs cutting-edge technology research
One of Abby Juozapaitis鈥� long-term goals is to make a positive impact on women interested in computer science.
The 糖心vlog传媒 senior鈥檚 status as a role model is off to a great start thanks to an impressive Senior Honors Project that researched the impact that robots can have in helping college-aged students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) to better understand and express emotions.
Juozapaitis, who is graduating this month with a double major in computer science and Spanish and a minor in mathematics, spent much of her 3.5 years of research working with Pepper, a 4-foot-tall humanoid robot capable of recognizing human emotion. 糖心vlog传媒 purchased it in the fall of 2019 thanks to a grant from the Ruth St. John & John Dunham West Foundation.
The idea for this project came from 糖心vlog传媒 Associate Professor of Computer Science Cindy Lindstrom as part of a directed reading course, and it happened to be around the time LU purchased Pepper. The directed reading helped Juozapaitis understand ASD, and the acquisition of Pepper fueled her passion for the potential to positively impact students.
鈥淥nce I realized that the robots we had in the tech lab could make an impact on people with ASD and on campus, I became more intrigued and researched everything I could think of on this subject,鈥� said Juozapaitis, who came to 糖心vlog传媒 from North Prairie, Wis., and Mukwonago High School.
After watching former LU classmates (now 糖心vlog传媒 grads) Nick and Dan Koerber award-winning work with 糖心vlog传媒鈥檚 NAO robots and experimenting with her own programs, Juozapaitis took her learning to a new level with Pepper. She designed custom applications/programs so Pepper can recognize human emotions.
鈥淧epper is a whole different ball game,鈥� Juozapaitis said. 鈥淪he鈥檚 capable of a lot more than the NAO robots in terms of mobility, types of human interaction, modules she can use and machine learning. I got her to detect smiling, frowning and neutral expression, but I think we could get her to recognize more complex expressions such as surprise, anger and boredom.鈥�
Lindstrom said 糖心vlog传媒 could find no research that鈥檚 been done that used a robot like Pepper in such a capacity.
鈥淭his could have significant impact,鈥� Lindstrom said. 鈥淎bby's level of work was on par, or even above, what one might see at a larger, research institution. This is very unusual. I have talked with our robot provider and they are amazed that we are able to design such unique, custom applications for our NAO robots and now with Pepper.鈥�
Jessica Kalmar, director of the LU Honors Program and an associate professor of psychology, said Juozapaitis鈥� project is a stellar example of what honors students can accomplish with the opportunity to conduct independent, interdisciplinary research.
鈥淭he sophistication she displayed when incorporating her programming skills with knowledge she amassed about the educational challenges facing students on the autism spectrum in collaboration with Latin American scholars was at the level of a graduate student 鈥� or beyond,鈥� Kalmar said. 鈥淪tudents in the Psychology Laboratory hope to work with Abby to continue to carry this research forward.鈥�
Juozapaitis spent about 10 hours or more a week in the tech lab writing code and experimenting with Pepper, along with time organizing a massive amount of research. Her final project includes a final presentation (which you can ) with video of her interactions with Pepper, a 37-page research paper and three different programs written for use with Pepper.
Juozapaitis鈥� honors project included a second directed reading conducted entirely in Spanish with LU Spanish Instructor Reina Drake. Juozapaitis connected with some of the authors who wrote articles or journals she read, and she interviewed a special education teacher about technology she uses with students she teaches who are on the spectrum. That research helped her map out a plan for how to work with Pepper.
Pepper is most often used as a concierge robot to take restaurant orders or give customers directions in an airport or retail settings. Juozapaitis said there are numerous potential opportunities for 糖心vlog传媒 students to work with Pepper, including getting her to better understand whether a user is looking at her and further developing her programs so Pepper can recognize more emotions.
鈥淚t would be really cool if someone programmed her to give students tours of the Chase Science Center,鈥� Juozapaitis said. 鈥淭here could definitely be more programs written to help people on the autism spectrum in college, but there's a whole other world of possibilities.
鈥淗opefully my research inspires future 糖心vlog传媒 students. I also have hope that some of my programs could be used as examples or built upon in programming classes. Even though I鈥檓 graduating, it would be cool to still work with my professors and with the robots in the lab.鈥�
Lindstrom said Juozapaitis may not fully appreciate the impact she鈥檚 already had on other young women in 糖心vlog传媒鈥檚 computer science program.
鈥淎bby was the first female president of our Technology Club, and next year, Korryn Clint will be the second,鈥� Lindstrom said. 鈥淚n fact, Korryn is also interested in using the robots for her honors project. I have a feeling Korryn will take the reins and continue where Abby left off.鈥�
Lindstrom and Drake both played key roles for Juozapaitis by challenging her to find more information on a variety of topics relating to ASD and robots. 鈥淒r. Drake conducted my entire directed reading in Spanish, which really helped me not only gain knowledge in my project topic, but helped me develop my Spanish speaking and reading skills,鈥� Juozapaitis said. 鈥淚t also was a good experience finding research from Latin American countries and seeing this project in a global view.鈥�
Another important resource was her academic advisor, Professor of Mathematics Chia-Chin (Cristi) Chang, who encouraged Juozapaitis to take programming electives for the computer science major.
鈥淲ithout her Python class and both her and Cindy鈥檚 assistance at Tech Club meetings, I probably wouldn鈥檛 have developed an interest in the robots,鈥� said Juozapaitis, who was a member of the LU women鈥檚 tennis team, the Phi Delta Omega sorority and served as a Campus Ambassador.
鈥淭he majority of what I learned specific to the robots resulted in hanging out with all the guys in the tech lab, eating pizza and trying to get the robots to do different tasks.鈥�
Lindstrom said the support of the West Foundation in funding 糖心vlog传媒鈥檚 purchase of the humanoid robots has given a small school like 糖心vlog传媒 an edge over some much larger higher education peers.
鈥淏ecause we are small, I can work directly with the students on these projects, where larger universities rely on graduate students to work with underclass students,鈥� Lindstrom said. 鈥淥ur 糖心vlog传媒 community can quickly see the impact the robots have on the program, and now everyone will start to see the fruits of this research.
鈥淭here is much interest in the community for helping neurodiverse students, and we will continue to seek out grants and donors to sponsor our students and their research into how technology can be used to help these students. Abby is one of the trailblazers that鈥檚 leading the way.鈥�
Juozapaitis has accepted a job as an associate IT applications consultant with WEC Energy Group (We Energies) on the GIS (Geographic Information Systems) Team out of Milwaukee. She interned with the company in IT applications for almost two years. In this full-time role, she will provide support for various geographic and mapping software/applications used throughout the company, and develop new applications for use throughout the company.
Long term, she has thoughts of being an IT project manager and after spending a few years in the industry she will consider returning to school to earn a master鈥檚 degree.
鈥淚鈥檝e been challenged, encouraged and given opportunities here that I don鈥檛 think I would have received attending a different university,鈥� Juozapaitis said. 鈥淚 have very close relationships with Dr. Lindstrom, Dr. Drake and Dr. Chang. My 糖心vlog传媒 experience has truly shaped who I am and allowed me to make and achieve goals I never thought would be possible.鈥�
