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Physical human-robot interaction influence in ASD therapy through an affordable soft social robot

Pinto-Bernal, Maria Jose; Cespedes, Nathalia; Castro, Paola; Munera, Marcela; Cifuentes, Carlos A.

Authors

Maria Jose Pinto-Bernal

Nathalia Cespedes

Paola Castro

Marcela Munera

Carlos A. Cifuentes



Abstract

In the latest years, there has been a rise in social robotics' interest as a support tool in various scopes. For instance, social robots have been used in Autism treatments, improving social skills, social interaction, and children's daily activities performance. Although several studies elucidate the benefits of social robots in the ASD community, few focus on evaluating and promoting physical interaction. Thus, this study presents the development and assessment of a social robotic platform based on soft actuation to promote physical interaction. A total of 35 children diagnosed with autism were involved in this study. The primary outcomes show that physical interaction does not significantly influence the patient's performance in the activity. However, the clinicians remark that encouragement and motivation increase when the children were allowed to interact with the robot physically. Also, 52.9% of the control group children elucidate the intention of physically interact with the robot, suggesting this behavior is an essential way of communication.

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Mar 8, 2022
Online Publication Date Jul 12, 2022
Publication Date Jul 12, 2022
Deposit Date Jul 18, 2022
Journal Journal of Intelligent and Robotic Systems
Print ISSN 0921-0296
Electronic ISSN 1573-0409
Publisher Springer Verlag
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 105
Issue 3
Article Number 67
DOI https://doi.org/10.1007/s10846-022-01617-0
Keywords Autism spectrum disorder; Child-robot interaction; Physical Interaction; Social robotics
Public URL https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/9709333