Human-centred design methods : developing scenarios for robot assisted play informed by user panels and field trials

Original article can be found at: http://www.sciencedirect.com/ Copyright ElsevierThis article describes the user-centred development of play scenarios for robot assisted play, as part of the multidisciplinary IROMEC1 project that develops a novel robotic toy for children with special needs. The project investigates how robotic toys can become social mediators, encouraging children with special needs to discover a range of play styles, from solitary to collaborative play (with peers, carers/teachers, parents, etc.). This article explains the developmental process of constructing relevant play scenarios for children with different special needs. Results are presented from consultation with panel of experts (therapists, teachers, parents) who advised on the play needs for the various target user groups and who helped investigate how robotic toys could be used as a play tool to assist in the children’s development. Examples from experimental investigations are provided which have informed the development of scenarios throughout the design process. We conclude by pointing out the potential benefit of this work to a variety of research projects and applications involving human–robot interactions.Peer reviewe

A Pilot Study on Facial Expression Recognition Ability of Autistic Children Using Ryan, a Rear-Projected Humanoid Robot

Rear-projected robots use computer graphics technology to create facial animations and project them on a mask to show the robot’s facial cues and expressions. These types of robots are becoming commercially available, though more research is required to understand how they can be effectively used as a socially assistive robotic agent. This paper presents the results of a pilot study on comparing the facial expression recognition abilities of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) with typically developing (TD) children using a rear-projected humanoid robot called Ryan. Six children with ASD and six TD children participated in this research, where Ryan showed them six basic expressions (i.e. anger, disgust, fear, happiness, sadness, and surprise) with different intensity levels. Participants were asked to identify the expressions portrayed by Ryan. The results of our study show that there is not any general impairment in expression recognition ability of the ASD group comparing to the TD control group; however, both groups showed deficiencies in identifying disgust and fear. Increasing the intensity of Ryan’s facial expressions significantly improved the expression recognition accuracy. Both groups were successful to recognize the expressions demonstrated by Ryan with high average accuracy

Toward Family-Robot Interactions: A Family-Centered Framework in HRI

As robotic products become more integrated into daily life, there is a greater need to understand authentic and real-world human-robot interactions to inform product design. Across many domestic, educational, and public settings, robots interact with not only individuals and groups of users, but also families, including children, parents, relatives, and even pets. However, products developed to date and research in human-robot and child-robot interactions have focused on the interaction with their primary users, neglecting the complex and multifaceted interactions between family members and with the robot. There is a significant gap in knowledge, methods, and theories for how to design robots to support these interactions. To inform the design of robots that can support and enhance family life, this paper provides (1) a narrative review exemplifying the research gap and opportunities for family-robot interactions and (2) an actionable family-centered framework for research and practices in human-robot and child-robot interaction

Perspectives and research on play for children with disabilities. Collected papers

This book includes eight chapters reflecting various approaches towards the theme of play for children with disabilities that characterised the work of the members of the COST Action TD1309 “LUDI–Play for Children with Disabilities”. Alongside these multifaceted points of view, some theoretical aspects emerged as a common background: the ICF-CY theoretical perspective, the vision of “play for the sake of play” and play as a fundamental right

Perspectives and research on play for children with disabilities: collected papers

This book includes eight chapters reflecting various approaches towards the theme of play for children with disabilities that characterised the work of the members of the COST Action TD1309 "LUDI-Play for Children with Disabilities". Alongside these multifaceted points of view, some theoretical aspects emerged as a common background: the ICF-CY theoretical perspective, the vision of "play for the sake of play" and play as a fundamental right

Motion-based technology to support motor skills screening in developing children: A scoping review

Background. Acquiring motor skills is fundamental for children's development since it is linked to cognitive development. However, access to early detection of motor development delays is limited. Aim. This review explores the use and potential of motion-based technology (MBT) as a complement to support and increase access to motor screening in developing children. Methods. Six databases were searched following the PRISMA guidelines to search, select, and assess relevant works where MBT recognised the execution of children's motor skills. Results. 164 studies were analysed to understand the type of MBT used, the motor skills detected, the purpose of using MBT and the age group targeted. Conclusions. There is a gap in the literature aiming to integrate MBT in motor skills development screening and assessment processes. Depth sensors are the prevailing technology offering the largest detection range for children from age 2. Nonetheless, the motor skills detected by MBT represent about half of the motor skills usually observed to screen and assess motor development. Overall, research in this field is underexplored. The use of multimodal approaches, combining various motion-based sensors, may support professionals in the health domain and increase access to early detection programmes.Funding for open access charge: Universidad de Málaga / CBUA

A Review of Verbal and Non-Verbal Human-Robot Interactive Communication

In this paper, an overview of human-robot interactive communication is presented, covering verbal as well as non-verbal aspects of human-robot interaction. Following a historical introduction, and motivation towards fluid human-robot communication, ten desiderata are proposed, which provide an organizational axis both of recent as well as of future research on human-robot communication. Then, the ten desiderata are examined in detail, culminating to a unifying discussion, and a forward-looking conclusion

Incremental and Radical Innovation : Design in Robotics for Autism : Teo and Riby robots : Evolutionary Development

Present paper analyzes and compares two innovation models in robot design. The first part describes the incremental development process of Teo: a robotic tool for Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) treatment for children. The second part describes the radical innovation model used for Riby: a robotic tool for ASD treatment for adults. At the end of this paper, authors discuss the results of each case and expose the conclusions as a possible new method of product development in social robotics