Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Fig. 4.1
Lego robots and adapted controller
these limitations, children with severe disabilities may be perceived as being
more developmentally delayed than they actually are. Robots give children
an opportunity to manipulate items and choose how to interact with their
environment. Because these tasks often require problem solving, they can
also provide a method for children to demonstrate their understanding of
cognitive concepts.
Robots have been used to demonstrate previously unmeasured cognitive
skills. Robot-based tool use was demonstrated by disabled and typically-
developing children greater than 8 months in mental age by using a robot
to bring an object closer to them [
6
]. Children aged 6-14 years who had se-
vere cerebral palsy performed a structured play task to uncover a hidden
toy by activating one or more switches [
7
]. The majority of the partic-
ipants could not be evaluated through standard cognitive measures, but
teachers noticed differences in overall responsiveness, amount of vocalization,
and interest (i.e., increased attention to tasks) for children who used the
robotic arm.
Ten children with varying physical and cognitive disabilities participated
in a study using the Lego MindStorms robot [
8
]. Two robots were built and
used in this project, and are shown in Fig.
4.1
: the robot arm (left image in the
figure) and the roverbot car (centre image). Each robot could be programmed
to perform different actions. The child used from one to four switches con-
nected to a modified remote control (right image) designed and built for this
project. The child could play back a movement (e.g., a dancing robot) with
one switch press or control the robot to move in four directions (left, right,
forward, back) using four switches.
The study's hypothesis was that children with cognitive disabilities will use
a robot to interact with objects in a manner that is consistent with typical
developmental levels for non-disabled children.
The children fell into three groups with respect to their cognitive level and
skills attained with the robots:
1.
Severe physical and cognitive disabilities:
These children had limited con-
trol or understanding of the robot. They controlled the robot with a single
switch to bring toys to them, or to move it across their field of vision.
