Exploring the need of an assistive robot to support reading process: A pilot study

This work introduces a new socially assistive robot termed MARIA T21 (meaning “Mobile Autonomous Robot for Interaction with Autistics”, with the addition of the acronym T21, meaning “Trisomy 21”, which is used to designate individuals with Down syndrome). This new robot is used in psychomotor therapies for children with Down syndrome (contributing to improve their proprioception, postural balance, and gait) as well as in psychosocial and cognitive therapies for children with autism spectrum disorder. The robot uses, as a novelty, an embedded mini-video projector able to project Serious Games on the floor or tables to make already-established therapies funnier to these children, thus creating a motivating and facilitating effect for both children and therapists. The Serious Games were developed in Python through the library Pygame, considering theoretical bases of behavioral psychology for these children, which are integrated into the robot through the robot operating system (ROS). Encouraging results from the child–robot interaction are shown, according to outcomes obtained from the application of the Goal Attainment Scale. Regarding the Serious Games, they were considered suitable based on both the “Guidelines for Game Design of Serious Games for Children” and the “Evaluation of the Psychological Bases” used during the games’ development. Thus, this pilot study seeks to demonstrate that the use of a robot as a therapeutic tool together with the concept of Serious Games is an innovative and promising tool to help health professionals in conducting therapies with children with autistic spectrum disorder and Down syndrome. Due to health issues imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the sample of children was limited to eight children (one child with typical development, one with Trisomy 21, both female, and six children with ASD, one girl and five boys), from 4 to 9 years of age. For the non-typically developing children, the inclusion criterion was the existence of a conclusive diagnosis and fulfillment of at least 1 year of therapy. The protocol was carried out in an infant psychotherapy room with three video cameras, supervised by a group of researchers and a therapist. The experiments were separated into four steps: The first stage was composed of a robot introduction followed by an approximation between robot and child to establish eye contact and assess proxemics and interaction between child/robot. In the second stage, the robot projected Serious Games on the floor, and emitted verbal commands, seeking to evaluate the child’s susceptibility to perform the proposed tasks. In the third stage, the games were performed for a certain time, with the robot sending messages of positive reinforcement to encourage the child to accomplish the game. Finally, in the fourth stage, the robot finished the games and said goodbye to the child, using messages aiming to build a closer relationship with the child.

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Influence of a Socially Assistive Robot on Physical Activity, Play Behavior, and Toy-use Behaviors of Children in a Free Play Environment: A Within-Subjects Study

10.21203/rs.3.rs-704373/v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Joseline Raja Vora ◽

Ameer Helmi ◽

Christine Zhan ◽

Eliora Olivares ◽

Tina Vu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Physical Activity ◽

Pilot Study ◽

Free Play ◽

Play Behavior ◽

Baseline Phase ◽

Intervention Phase ◽

Play Area ◽

Assistive Robot ◽

Socially Assistive Robot

Abstract Background: Play is critical for children’s physical, cognitive, and social development. Technology-based toys like robots are especially of interest to children. This pilot study explores the affordances of the play area provided by developmentally appropriate toys and a mobile socially assistive robot (SAR). The objective of this study is to assess the role of the SAR on physical activity, play behavior, and toy-use behavior of children during free play. Methods: Six children (5 females, Mage = 3.6 ± 1.9 years) participated in the majority of our pilot study’s seven 30-minute-long weekly play sessions (4 baseline and 3 intervention). During baseline sessions, the SAR was powered off. During intervention sessions, the SAR was teleoperated to move in the play area and offered rewards of lights, sounds, and bubbles to children. Thirty-minute videos of the play sessions were annotated using a momentary time sampling observation system. Mean percentage of time spent in behaviors of interest in baseline and intervention sessions were calculated. Paired-Wilcoxon signed rank tests were conducted to assess differences between baseline and intervention sessions. Results: There was a significant increase in children’s standing (~15%; Z = -2.09; p = 0.037) and a tendency for less time sitting (~19%; Z = -1.89; p = 0.059) in the intervention phase as compared to the baseline phase. There was also a significant decrease (~4.5%, Z = -2.70; p = 0.007) in peer interaction play and a tendency for greater (~4.5%, Z = -1.89; p = 0.059) interaction with adults in the intervention phase as compared to the baseline phase. There was a significant increase in children’s interaction with the robot (~11.5%, Z = -2.52; p = 0.012) in the intervention phase as compared to the baseline phase. Conclusions: These results may indicate that a mobile SAR provides affordances through rewards that elicit children’s interaction with the SAR and more time standing in free play. This pilot study lays a foundation for exploring the role of SARs in inclusive play environments for children with and without mobility disabilities in real-world settings like day-care centers and preschools.

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Kindergarten Social Assistive Robot (KindSAR) for children’s geometric thinking and metacognitive development in preschool education: A pilot study

Computers in Human Behavior ◽

10.1016/j.chb.2014.03.009 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 35 ◽

pp. 400-412 ◽

Cited By ~ 34

Author(s):

Guy Keren ◽

Marina Fridin

Keyword(s):

Pilot Study ◽

Preschool Education ◽

Metacognitive Development ◽

Geometric Thinking ◽

Assistive Robot

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Taalverwerving En De Herkenning Van Morfo-Syntactische Structuren Door Prelinguaal Totaal Dove Lezers.

Toegepaste Taalwetenschap in Artikelen ◽

10.1075/ttwia.24.08vee ◽

1986 ◽

Vol 24 ◽

pp. 69-80

Author(s):

H. Veenker

Keyword(s):

Pilot Study ◽

Language Acquisition ◽

Reading Process ◽

Syntactic Structures ◽

Psychological Reality ◽

Experimental Part ◽

Theoretical Part ◽

Deaf Readers ◽

The Subject ◽

True False

A pilot study is reported of the recognition of morphological and syntactic structures by prelingually totally deaf readers. The reading process is of importance because language acquisition takes place, among other things, through writing. The study was prompted by the question posed by Hung, Tzeng en Warren (1981): Why is it so difficult for deaf subjects to develop automaticity in recognizing printed English letters and words? This question was paraphrased as follows: How unambiguously are syntactic and morphological structures reflected in writing? In the theoretical part of the study it is argued that the -er suffix can be considered ambiguous. In the experimental part of the study the question was if, and to what extent, this ambiguity has psychological reality during the reading process of deaf subjects. Three questions were studied: 1. Is the subject able to recognise the suffix? 2. Is he able to affix correct connotations to it? 3. Is he able to give correct grammatical judgements about it? The results, based on an analysis of response delays and true/ false decisions, indicate that the deaf subjects do automatize, but in such a way that they systematically produce incorrect responses in certain spelling matters.

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Influence of a Socially Assistive Robot on Physical Activity, Social Play Behavior, and Toy-Use Behaviors of Children in a Free Play Environment: A Within-Subjects Study

Frontiers in Robotics and AI ◽

10.3389/frobt.2021.768642 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 8 ◽

Author(s):

Joseline Raja Vora ◽

Ameer Helmi ◽

Christine Zhan ◽

Eliora Olivares ◽

Tina Vu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Physical Activity ◽

Pilot Study ◽

Free Play ◽

Play Behavior ◽

Baseline Phase ◽

Intervention Phase ◽

Play Area ◽

Assistive Robot ◽

Socially Assistive Robot

Background: Play is critical for children’s physical, cognitive, and social development. Technology-based toys like robots are especially of interest to children. This pilot study explores the affordances of the play area provided by developmentally appropriate toys and a mobile socially assistive robot (SAR). The objective of this study is to assess the role of the SAR on physical activity, play behavior, and toy-use behavior of children during free play.Methods: Six children (5 females, Mage = 3.6 ± 1.9 years) participated in the majority of our pilot study’s seven 30-minute-long weekly play sessions (4 baseline and 3 intervention). During baseline sessions, the SAR was powered off. During intervention sessions, the SAR was teleoperated to move in the play area and offered rewards of lights, sounds, and bubbles to children. Thirty-minute videos of the play sessions were annotated using a momentary time sampling observation system. Mean percentage of time spent in behaviors of interest in baseline and intervention sessions were calculated. Paired-Wilcoxon signed rank tests were conducted to assess differences between baseline and intervention sessions.Results: There was a significant increase in children’s standing (∼15%; Z = −2.09; p = 0.037) and a tendency for less time sitting (∼19%; Z = −1.89; p = 0.059) in the intervention phase as compared to the baseline phase. There was also a significant decrease (∼4.5%, Z = −2.70; p = 0.007) in peer interaction play and a tendency for greater (∼4.5%, Z = −1.89; p = 0.059) interaction with adults in the intervention phase as compared to the baseline phase. There was a significant increase in children’s interaction with the robot (∼11.5%, Z = −2.52; p = 0.012) in the intervention phase as compared to the baseline phase.Conclusion: These results may indicate that a mobile SAR provides affordances through rewards that elicit children’s interaction with the SAR and more time standing in free play. This pilot study lays a foundation for exploring the role of SARs in inclusive play environments for children with and without mobility disabilities in real-world settings like day-care centers and preschools.

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A Pilot Study of Endoscopic Submucosal Dissection Using an Endoscopic Assistive Robot in a Porcine Stomach Model

Gut and Liver ◽

10.5009/gnl18370 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 13 (4) ◽

pp. 402-408 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Byung Gon Kim ◽

Hyuk Soon Choi ◽

Sei Hoon Park ◽

Jun Ho Hong ◽

Jung Min Lee ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Pilot Study ◽

Endoscopic Submucosal Dissection ◽

Submucosal Dissection ◽

Assistive Robot

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A pilot study on the eBear socially assistive robot: Implication for interacting with elderly people with moderate depression

2017 IEEE-RAS 17th International Conference on Humanoid Robotics (Humanoids) ◽

10.1109/humanoids.2017.8246957 ◽

2017 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

B. Amir H. Kargar ◽

Mohammad H. Mahoor

Keyword(s):

Pilot Study ◽

Elderly People ◽

Moderate Depression ◽

Assistive Robot ◽

Socially Assistive Robot

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A pilot study exploring staff acceptability of a socially assistive robot in a residential care facility that accommodates people under 65 years old

International Psychogeriatrics ◽

10.1017/s1041610217002617 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 30 (7) ◽

pp. 1075-1080 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Samantha M. Loi ◽

Alice Bennett ◽

Marta Pearce ◽

Khanh Nguyen ◽

Nicola T. Lautenschlager ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Pilot Study ◽

Technology Acceptance ◽

Residential Care ◽

Care Facility ◽

Ease Of Use ◽

Younger Adults ◽

Residential Care Facility ◽

Assistive Robots ◽

Assistive Robot ◽

Socially Assistive Robot

ABSTRACTSocially assistive robots have successfully been trialed in residential care facilities (RCFs) for older adults. These robots may have potential for younger adults (i.e. under 65 years old) who also live in RCFs. However, it is important to investigate staff acceptability and ease-of-use of these robots. This pilot study used the Technology Acceptance Model to investigate how staff working in a specialized RCF for younger adults accept Betty, a socially assistive robot who was introduced in the facility for 12 weeks. Twenty-four staff completed pre-questionnaires, reporting that they thought Betty would have the ability to engage and entertain the residents they cared for. While there were only eight staff who completed the post-questionnaires, there were significant improvements compared to the pre-questionnaire results in areas such as residents enjoying the contact and activities. Impacting on ease-of use were technical difficulties. Although this study had limitations and could be improved by a better response rate and investigating the residents’ acceptability of Betty, this study is one of the first to report that this novel technology may have much potential for engaging adults in RCFs.

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