WeeBot: A novel method for infant control of a robotic mobility device (original) (raw)
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TheWeeBot: Feasibility of a Mobility Option for Infants
In this pilot study we investigated the ability of five infants from 6 to 9 months of age to learn to drive the WeeBot, a mobile robot controlled by weight shift over a Wii balance board, over five training sessions. Infants demonstrated continued improvement in driving performance in a training protocol, and in time-in-motion and goal-directed behavior during free play sessions. The Wii provided a control system that appeared to be intuitive for the infants to use.
Development of robotic mobility for infants: rationale and outcomes
Physiotherapy, 2012
Objectives To assess the feasibility of a robotic mobility device for infants using alternative control interfaces aimed at promoting early self-initiated mobility, and to assess the effects of a training protocol and robot experience. Design Observational and pre-post quantitative case studies. Setting Standardised, research laboratory and day-care centres with toys and individuals familiar to infants. Participants Children with and without disabilities, aged 5 months to 3 years. Interventions In each study, infants were seated over a Pioneer TM 3-DX mobile robot. Some infants controlled the directional movement of the robot by weight shifting their body on a Nintendo® Wii TM Balance Board (the WeeBot), while others used a modified joystick. Infants participated in five sessions over 2 to 5 weeks. Sessions consisted of administering a 10-minute training protocol preceded and followed by 2 to 3 minutes of free play. One child with motor impairment used a button switch array and a different experimental design. Main outcome measures From the videotaped free-play periods, goal-directed behaviours were coded and time in motion was measured. In the training period, a scoring system was developed to measure the infants' driving performance. Results Preliminary outcomes indicate that infants without disabilities, aged 5 to 10 months, demonstrated significant improvement in driving performance and goal-directed movement using the WeeBot. Infants who used the joystick were less successful on all measures. Results for infants with disabilities using the WeeBot were mixed. Conclusions Mobile robots offer promise to enhance the development of early self-mobility. Novel types of interfaces, such as the WeeBot, warrant further investigation.
INFANT ROBOTIC MOBILITY: COMPARISON OF BALANCE BOARD VS. JOYSTICK CONTROL INTERFACE
This study compared the ability of infants to learn to direct their movement on a mobile robot with a balance board control interface (the WeeBot) or a joystick. Twenty infants were recruited who were developing typically, and ranged in age from 5 to 9 months; ten infants were assigned to each control interface group. Each infant participated in five robot sessions, which included a three-minute free play period, and a ten-minute driver-training period, followed by a second two-minute free play period. In driver training, infants completed 9 trials where they were offered a toy from three directions at three distances. Infants learned to use the WeeBot interface easily, but performance using the joystick was poor for most infants. Results of this study suggest that for young infants, the joystick may not be a feasible control interface for powered mobility. Alternate control interfaces such as the WeeBot that are intuitive to use may provide more successful learning for very young c...
Assistive Technology, 2017
The onset of crawling in infants contributes to cognitive, perceptual, social, and emotional development. Conversely, infants with motor impairment that delays or prevents autonomous mobility often have associated developmental delays. Evidence suggests that providing mobility may have positive developmental outcomes, however powered wheelchairs may not be recommended for very young children, due to safety concerns and the child's level of cognitive maturity. The WeeBot is a mobility device controlled by infant weight shifting while seated; infants as young as 5 months have learned to use it. This study compares the efficacy of using the WeeBot vs. using the traditional manual joystick to control a robotic mobility device. Participants were 20 typically developing infants between 5 and 10 months who had not yet achieved independent mobility. A quasi-experimental two-group design was used: The first 10 participants recruited used the WeeBot (weight-shift); the next 10 used the joystick. Results showed that infants learned to use weight-shift control more easily and more skilfully than did infants using the joystick. The ability of infants to use the WeeBot suggests that an intuitive alternative control might allow very early powered mobility for children with disabilities, which might have implications for various aspects of their development.
Baby Robot: Improving the Motor Skills of Toddlers
2021
This article introduces “Baby Robot”, a robot aiming to improve motor skills of babies and toddlers. Authors developed a car-like toy that moves autonomously using reinforcement learning and computer vision techniques. The robot behaviour is to escape from a target baby that has been previously recognised, or at least detected, while avoiding obstacles, so that the security of the baby is not compromised. A myriad of commercial toys with a similar mobility improvement purpose are into the market; however, there is no one that bets for an intelligent autonomous movement, as they perform simple yet repetitive trajectories in the best of the cases. Two crawling toys –one in representation of “Baby Robot”– were tested in a real environment with respect to regular toys in order to check how they improved the toddlers mobility. These real-life experiments were conducted with our proposed robot in a kindergarten, where a group of children interacted with the toys. Significant improvement i...
A Baby Robot Platform for Cognitive Developmental Robotics
This paper presents a new baby robot platform for cognitive developmental robotics developed by the Socially-Synergistic Intelligence group of JST ERATO Asada Project. We aim at developing a baby-sized humanoid robot with highperformance mobility to tackle research issues which have not been covered by robots developed in our group, for example, motor learning through whole-body motor babbling and motion generation with tactile interaction. For this purpose, powerful and easily controllable actuators as well as a robust structure able to absorb shocks are chosen to allow the development of dynamical motions. Furthermore the robot surface is covered by touch sensors in order to allow studies in physical humanrobot interaction. Two research topics that will employ the new platform are presented. The former involves the exploitation of biological fluctuations, a control method inspired from the chemotaxis of bacteria and from gene expressions of growing cells, to learn a crawling motion. The second aims at studying touch as a communication mean to develop robot motions.
Autonomous Spherical Mobile Robot for Child-Development Studies
IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics - Part A: Systems and Humans, 2005
This paper presents the design process of a spherical robot capable of autonomous motion, and demonstrates how it can become a tool in child development studies. The robot, named Roball, is capable of intentional selfpropelled movements and can generate various interplay situations using motion, messages, sounds, illuminated parts and other sensors. Such capabilities allow Roball to interact with young children in simple and interesting ways, and provide the potential of contributing to the development of their language, affective, motor, intellectual and social skills. Trials done with 12 to 24 month old children demonstrate how Roball can be used to study children's interest in a self-propelled and intentional device. An experimental methodology to conduct such studies is presented: it is based on quantitative and qualitative techniques to evaluate interactions, thus enabling the identification of challenges and opportunities in child-robot interaction studies.
Novel Assistive Device for Teaching Crawling Skills to Infants
Crawling is a fundamental skill linked to development far beyond simple mobility. Infants who have cerebral palsy and similar conditions learn to crawl late, if at all; pushing back other elements of their development. This paper describes the development of a robot (the Self-Initiated Prone Progression Crawler v3, or SIPPC3) that assists infants in learning to crawl. When an infant is placed onboard, the robot senses contact forces generated by the limbs interacting with the ground. The robot then moves or raises the infant's trunk accordingly. The robot responses are adjustable such that even infants lacking the muscle strength to crawl can initiate movement. The novel idea that this paper presents is the use of a force augmenting motion mechanism to help infants learn how to crawl.
Perspectives on Mobile Robots as Tools for Child Development and Pediatric Rehabilitation
Assistive Technology, 2007
Mobile robots (i.e., robots capable of translational movements) can be designed to become interesting tools for child development studies and pediatric rehabilitation. In this article, the authors present two of their projects that involve mobile robots interacting with children: One is a spherical robot deployed in a variety of contexts, and the other is mobile robots used as pedagogical tools
A Data Collection of Infants’ Visual, Physical, and Behavioral Reactions to a Small Humanoid Robot
2018 IEEE Workshop on Advanced Robotics and its Social Impacts (ARSO)
Exploratory movements during infancy help typically developing infants learn the connections between their own actions and desired outcomes. In contrast, infants who are at risk for developmental delays often have neuromotor impairments that negatively influence their motivation for movement. The goal of this work is to expand our understanding of infant responses to non-contact interactions with a small humanoid robot. In the initial work presented here, we focus on understanding how this type of robotic system might help to encourage typically developing infant motor exploration. A data collection with N = 9 infants compared infant reactions to four robot conditions: saying "yay" with arm movement, saying "kick" with leg movement, saying "yay" with no movement, and saying "kick" with no movement. The results indicate that infants visually gazed at the robot while it moved, looking specifically to the part of the robot that was moving. Infants tended to move more during periods of robot inactivity. When the robot was moving, the infants also seemed more alert. Overall, these results can inform future studies of how to develop interventions to encourage movement practice by typically developing and at-risk infants.