There is significant research in the use of various technologies to assist with global disaster relief efforts. Due to the ability of robots to work long hours, go without food, water, shelter, resources that humans could not; makes them optimal for use in these specialized circumstances. This research aims to develop an trauma-informed assistive application for use in disaster relief on the Pepper semi-humanoid robot which is specifically designed with the ability to detect emotions. The researcher aims to create an empathetic link with humans and the Pepper robot, focusing on traumatic situations in which Pepper can be an assistant to those affected. Currently, this application is being developed using Choreographe platform to detect images and voice-based interactions. The robotic agent is programmed to identify vulnerable populations in a rescue situation, approach, engage and respond to different emotions that a person may express during the dialogue using natural language processing on the NaoQi platform. The expected outcomes from this work will include Pepper's ability to carry on a beneficial conversation with a human in a stressful situation and offer relevant assistance while also providing significant data for human response workers. We will demonstrate the functionality of the application as this research is still in progress.
