scholarly journals Getting in touch with children with autism: Specialist guidelines for a touch-perceiving robot

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 115-135
Author(s):  
Rachael Bevill Burns ◽  
Hasti Seifi ◽  
Hyosang Lee ◽  
Katherine J. Kuchenbecker
Keyword(s):  
Relevant Literature ◽  
Children With Autism ◽  
Tactile Sensor ◽  
Human Robot Interaction ◽  
User Research ◽  
Touch Perception ◽  
Assistive Robot ◽  
Perception System ◽  
Socially Assistive Robot ◽  
Initial List

AbstractChildren with autism need innovative solutions that help them learn to master everyday experiences and cope with stressful situations. We propose that socially assistive robot companions could better understand and react to a child’s needs if they utilized tactile sensing. We examined the existing relevant literature to create an initial set of six tactile-perception requirements, and we then evaluated these requirements through interviews with 11 experienced autism specialists from a variety of backgrounds. Thematic analysis of the comments shared by the specialists revealed three overarching themes: the touch-seeking and touch-avoiding behavior of autistic children, their individual differences and customization needs, and the roles that a touch-perceiving robot could play in such interactions. Using the interview study feedback, we refined our initial list into seven qualitative requirements that describe robustness and maintainability, sensing range, feel, gesture identification, spatial, temporal, and adaptation attributes for the touch-perception system of a robot companion for children with autism. Finally, by utilizing the literature and current best practices in tactile sensor development and signal processing, we transformed these qualitative requirements into quantitative specifications. We discuss the implications of these requirements for future human–robot interaction research in the sensing, computing, and user research communities.

DESIGNING INTELLIGENT SOCIALLY ASSISTIVE ROBOTS AS EFFECTIVE TOOLS IN COGNITIVE INTERVENTIONS

2011 ◽  
Vol 08 (01) ◽  
pp. 103-126 ◽  
Author(s):  
JEANIE CHAN ◽  
GOLDIE NEJAT ◽  
JINGCONG CHEN
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Stimulation ◽  
Human Robot Interaction ◽  
Control Architecture ◽  
Cognitive Interventions ◽  
Training Interventions ◽  
Assistive Robots ◽  
Socially Assistive Robots ◽  
Assistive Robot ◽  
Term Basis ◽  
Socially Assistive Robot

Recently, there has been a growing body of research that supports the effectiveness of using non-pharmacological cognitive and social training interventions to reduce the decline of or improve brain functioning in individuals suffering from cognitive impairments. However, implementing and sustaining such interventions on a long-term basis is difficult as they require considerable resources and people, and can be very time-consuming for healthcare staff. Our research focuses on making these interventions more accessible to healthcare professionals through the aid of robotic assistants. The objective of our work is to develop an intelligent socially assistive robot with abilities to recognize and identify human affective intent to determine its own appropriate emotion-based behavior while engaging in assistive interactions with people. In this paper, we present the design of a novel human-robot interaction (HRI) control architecture that allows the robot to provide social and cognitive stimulation in person-centered cognitive interventions. Namely, the novel control architecture is designed to allow a robot to act as a social motivator by encouraging, congratulating and assisting a person during the course of a cognitively stimulating activity. Preliminary experiments validate the effectiveness of the control architecture in providing assistive interactions during a HRI-based person-directed activity.

scholarly journals A New Socially Assistive Robot with Integrated Serious Games for Therapies with Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Down Syndrome: A Pilot Study

Sensors ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (24) ◽  
pp. 8414
Author(s):  
João Antonio Campos Panceri ◽  
Éberte Freitas ◽  
Josiany Carlos de Souza ◽  
Sheila da Luz Schreider ◽  
Eliete Caldeira ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Down Syndrome ◽  
Pilot Study ◽  
Trisomy 21 ◽  
Serious Games ◽  
Children With Autism ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Assistive Robot ◽  
Socially Assistive Robot

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.

The Design of an Intelligent Socially Assistive Robot for Person-Centered Cognitive Interventions

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeanie Chan ◽  
Goldie Nejat
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Stimulation ◽  
Human Robot Interaction ◽  
Control Architecture ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Brain Functioning ◽  
Cognitive Interventions ◽  
Training Interventions ◽  
Assistive Robot ◽  
Term Basis ◽  
Socially Assistive Robot

Recently, there has been a growing body of research that supports the effectiveness of using non-pharmacological cognitive and social training interventions to reduce the decline of or improve brain functioning in individuals suffering from cognitive impairments. However, implementing and sustaining such interventions on a long-term basis is difficult as they require considerable resources and people, and can be very time-consuming for healthcare staff. The objectives of our research are to validate the effectiveness of these training interventions and make them more accessible to healthcare professionals through the aid of robotic assistants. Our work focuses on designing a human-like socially assistive robot, Brian 2.0, with abilities to recognize and identify human affective intent to determine its own appropriate emotion-based behavior while engaging in natural and believable social interactions with people. In this paper, we present the design of a novel human-robot interaction (HRI) control architecture for Brian 2.0 that allows the robot to provide social and cognitive stimulation in person-centered cognitive interventions. Namely, the novel control architecture is designed to allow a robot to act as a social motivator by encouraging, congratulating and assisting a person during the course of a cognitively stimulating activity. Preliminary experiments validate the robot’s ability to provide assistive interactions during a HRI-based person-directed activity.

The influence of a socially assistive robot on mood, anxiety, and arousal in children.

2018 ◽  
Vol 49 (1) ◽  
pp. 48-56 ◽  
Author(s):  
Molly K. Crossman ◽  
Alan E. Kazdin ◽  
Elizabeth R. Kitt
Keyword(s):  
Assistive Robot ◽  
Socially Assistive Robot
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