Syamimi Shamsuddin

Initial response of autistic children in human-robot interaction therapy with humanoid robot NAO

The overall context proposed in this paper is part of our long-standing goal to contribute to a group of community that suffers from Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD); a lifelong developmental disability. The objective of this paper is to present the development of our pilot experiment protocol where children with ASD will be exposed to the humanoid robot NAO. This fully programmable humanoid offers an ideal research platform for human-robot interaction (HRI). This study serves as the platform for fundamental investigation to observe the initial response and behavior of the children in the said environment. The system utilizes external cameras, besides the robots own visual system. Anticipated results are the real initial response and reaction of ASD children during the HRI with the humanoid robot. This shall leads to adaptation of new procedures in ASD therapy based on HRI, especially for a non-technical-expert person to be involved in the robotics intervention during the therapy session.

Humanoid robot NAO: Review of control and motion exploration

Humanoids; a most intriguing subject to behold by both the engineers and the world at large. With the introduction of humanoid robot NAO by Aldebaran-Robotics in 2008, a performant biped robot is now available and affordable for research laboratories and the mass market. In this paper, an exploration of current trends in control methods of biped walks, behavior interface tools for motion control for NAO and imminent findings in both research areas are discussed. Future directions are for researchers to devise a unique controller with low power consumption without compromising the robots speed and robustness.

Face detection technique of Humanoid Robot NAO for application in robotic assistive therapy

This paper proposed a face detection method for tracking the faces of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder in a robotic assistive therapy. The face detection is a novel approach in robotic assistive therapy involving autistic children since it is believe that those children will positively react with high-end devices, gadget and cutting edge devices. The intention of tracking the autistic childrens faces is to measure the concentration level of the children in social interaction and communication since everyone knows that those children are suffering from communication disabilities and deficits due to brain developmental disorder. Humanoid Robot Nao with 573.2mm height equipped with 2 internal cameras is utilized for this research. The face detection tools in choregraphe and telepathe based on Graphical User Interface (GUI) module is used in this study. The non-verbal interaction between humanoid robot and autistic children is recorded by using 2 internal cameras from the robots head. The interaction is going to take about 30 minutes and supervised by occupational therapist and certified psychologist. The autistic children will be introduced to the Humanoid Robot Nao and their reaction will be recorded simultaneously while the robot is trying to track their faces.

Study on Social Interaction between Children with Autism and Humanoid Robot NAO

Autism cannot run away from their triangle deficits: social, communication and stereotyped behaviour. There is no cure for autism or any definitive treatment to treat the core symptoms of this developmental disorder. However, the deficits can be minimized by maximize their learning through behavioural therapy and educational intervention. Nowadays, the methods in the rehabilitation of autism have been upgraded by the innovation of humanoid robots, in particular the humanoid robot NAO. In this study, NAO has being programmed using Choregraphe as programming tool to develop lesson modules for children with autism to practice their social interaction skill. This paper focuses specifically on social interaction subscale to observe the behaviour of the autistic children during interaction with the humanoid robot NAO. The observation is based on six items referenced from the Gilliam Autism Rating Scale-second edition (GARS-2). The use of humanoid robot NAO in the rehabilitation of autistic children is expected to help them to interact and practice their social traits just like normal children. The results evidently showed that children with autism are positively affected by NAO by giving encouraging responses in social interaction when interacting with the robot. Two-way communication between the child and robot in real time significantly give positive impact in the responses towards the robot.

Humanoid robot NAO as a teaching tool of emotion recognition for children with autism using the Android app

In this paper, we used a humanoid robot to physically show emotional poses and conduct a simple guessing game with children. Nine different emotions using the robots body poses have been developed using Choregraphe. A pre-test was carried out with a normal developing 6-year old boy. We report some qualitative findings that we found during the child-robot interaction. We aim to develop an Android app as a simple tool that can be used on smartphones. This serves as a fundamental step to empower non-technical persons in using robots to interact with children with autism for learning and therapeutic purposes.

Robots as Adjunct Therapy: Reflections and Suggestions in Rehabilitation for People with Cognitive Impairments

The expanding function of robots in rehabilitation has allowed for new intervention methods that are accurate, motivating and repetitive. By analyzing current state-of-the-art evidences, this paper proposes considerable necessities for robots to take part in the rehabilitation environments. Suggestions focus specifically on intervention for people affected by autism, Cerebral Palsy (CP) and dementia. Overall, a robot in human shape present advantages over other types of robots in autism and CP therapy context as it is physically suitable in imitation-based therapy. However, for elderly people affected with dementia, so far only robots in animal shape have been utilized in therapy and succeed to improve their mental functions.

Robot-assisted learning for communication-care in autism intervention

Robot-based intervention for children with autism is an evolving research niche in human-robot interaction (HRI). Recent studies have covered the role of robots in clinical and experimental setting but not much on integrating them in educational setting. Our previous work had shown that interaction with a robot poses no adverse effects and that the robots specific interaction scenarios were associated with less autistic behavior. Extending this impact on school-going children, interactions that are in-tune with special education lessons are needed. This study aims to propose the integration of a robot into current learning environment for children with special needs, specifically autism. Six interaction scenarios had been designed based on the existing syllabus to teach communication skills, using the Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) technique as the framework. Development of the robotic experience for learning also covers the required set-up involving participation from teachers. The actual research conduct involving school children, teachers and robot shall take place in the next phase.

Feasibility of using a humanoid robot to elicit communicational response in children with mild autism

Research evidences are accumulating with regards to the potential use of robots for the rehabilitation of children with autism. The purpose of this paper is to elaborate on the results of communicational response in two children with autism during interaction with the humanoid robot NAO. Both autistic subjects in this study have been diagnosed with mild autism. Following the outcome from our first pilot study; the aim of this current experiment is to explore the application of NAO robot to engage with a child and further teach about emotions through a game-centered and song-based approach. The experiment procedure involved interaction between humanoid robot NAO with each child through a series of four different modules. The observation items are based on ten items selected and referenced to GARS-2 (Gilliam Autism Rating Scale-second edition) and also input from clinicians and therapists. The results clearly indicated that both of the children showed optimistic response through the interaction. Negative responses such as feeling scared or shying away from the robot were not detected. Two-way communication between the child and robot in real time significantly gives positive impact in the responses towards the robot. To conclude, it is feasible to include robot-based interaction specifically to elicit communicational response as a part of the rehabilitation intervention of children with autism.

Stereotyped behavior of autistic children with lower IQ level in HRI with a humanoid robot

Robots present immense potential as adjunct therapeutic tool, particularly for children with autism. Autism is a developmental disability normally detected within the first 3 years of life, characterized by the differing degrees of impairments in stereotyped behavior, social interaction and communication. This paper highlights our findings in a pilot study where children with autism were exposed to a humanoid robot. The simple modules of interaction were designed based on the human-robot interaction (HRI) approach. Six children who participated were identified with lower IQ classification. Child-robot interaction session and the childrens interaction behavior in class (without robot) were recorded. A behavior score sheet referenced to GARS-2 was used to evaluate the videos in both set-ups. Initial responses of the children were analyzed specifically in the deficit area of stereotyped behavior. Overall results show that 5 out of the 6 children responded well in child-robot interaction. Comparison with in-class interaction portrays reduced percentage in stereotyped behavior during the child-robot interaction. However, strong proof to link the childrens responses with their IQ levels need to be supported with larger samples of children in the future.

A Qualitative method to analyze response in robotic intervention for children with autism

This paper presents a method to carry out qualitative analysis when evaluating the interaction between child and robot in autism intervention. The technique consists of 24-items of behavioral assessment which was referenced to the Gilliam Autism Rating Scale-Second Edition (GARS-2). GARS-2 is a screening instrument used to identify and diagnose autism. Preliminary results from a pilot study show that this method had allowed qualitative observation to be carried out to compare the behavior of autistic children with and without the presence of a robot. The feasibility of this technique will be further justified through future wide-spread studies involving a larger number of children spanning across the whole spectrum of autism.