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IROMEC (Interactive Robotic Social Mediators as Companions)
Summary
Play Experience by Assistive Technology for play
Devices, services & contexts for play with children with disabilities
Name of Play Experience by AT
IROMEC (Interactive Robotic Social Mediators as Companions)
Type of project
Intervention
Finished research project
Ongoing research project
Summary
(~150 words: target group, aims, kind of activities, Play Experience by AT (devices, services and contexts) used, play experiences and results)
IROMEC (Interactive Robotic Social Mediators as Companions) is a modular mobile robotic platform developed in a three year project which started in November 2006. It was cofunded by the European Commission within the RTD activities of the Strategic Objective SO 2.6.1 “Advanced Robotics” of the 6th Framework Programme (2006-2009). It was designed to become a social mediator for children with different levels of impairments such as cognitive disabilities, severe motor impairments and autism.
Play Experience by Assistive technology
Low-tech, high-tech products, services and contexts for play
Description, intended use(s), intended target group(s), manufacturer/developer, reference
IROMEC is a mobile robotic platform designed to encourage disabled children to engage in social interaction via play scenarios. IROMEC is tailored towards children with autism, children with cognitive disabilities and children with motor impairments. The robot can engage in different play scenarios. The play scenarios were developed according to the needs of the target users group and according to the ICF-CY (International Classification of Functioning – version for Children and Youth) (Robins et al., 2010). The main components of IROMEC are a mobile platform, an application module, a number of additional components that modify the appearance and behaviour of the robot (Marti et al., 2010). Each element of the visual interface was designed using only a few variations and basic geometric shapes according to the needs of the impaired children, which are its main target user group (Lehmann et al. 2011). The robot is able to move in space autonomously and remotely controlled through a joy pad, or a button. IROMEC’s movements were designed not to be just functional in the interaction but also expressive in order to engage and sustain the children in the interaction. IROMEC is able to detect obstacles and persons in its surrounding through ultrasound and infrared sensors located on the mobile platform.
Picture
Download
Context
The context of use
(home, school, rehab center or other environments)
It is possible to use IROMEC in different context such as education and rehabilitation centres.
Type of Play
Type of play in this play system
LUDI Classification of types of play
Cognitive Dimension
Practice
Symbolic
Constructive
Rule play (including videogames)
Social Dimension
Solitary
Parallel
Associative
Cooperative
Objectives
Objectives related to play according to ICF-CY
International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health - Children & Youth Version (ICF-CY)
Play for the sake of play
Major life areas - d880 engagement in play
d8800 solitary play
d8801 onlooker play
d8802 parallel play
d8803 shared cooperative play
d8808 engagement in play, other specified
d8809 engagement in play, unspecified
Community social and civic life - d920 recreation and leisure time
d9200 play
Play-like activities
Therapeutic and educational objectives
b1 Mental functions
b2 Sensory functions and pain
b3 Voice and speech functions
b4 Functions of cardiovascular, hematological, immunological and respiratory systems
b5 Functions of digestive, metabolic and endocrine systems
b7 Neuromusculoskeletal and movement related functions
d1 Learning and applying knowledge (learning through symbolic play, learning through pretend play)
d2 General tasks and demands
d3 Communication
d4 Mobility
d7 Interpersonal interactions and relationships
Participant
Participant(s)
Number
1-5
5-10
10-20
>20
Chronological Age
0-3 years
3-6 years
6-12 years
12-18 years
Development Age
0-3 years
3-6 years
6-12 years
12-18 years
LUDI Categories of disabilities
Mental/intellectual impairments:
mild
moderate
severe
profound
Hearing impairments
Partially hearing impaired
Deaf
Visual impairments
Partially sighted
Blind
Communication disorders (speech and language disorders)
Physical impairments
Mild
Moderate
Severe
Autism Spectrum Disorders
Multiple disabilities
Explanation
Explanation on the use of low-tech, high-tech devices, services or contexts
Explanation
No instruction, self-discovery of the participant/subject
Verbal instruction, language and communication fitting to chronological age
Verbal instruction, language and communication is adapted
Visual and/or verbal instruction with AAC (Aumentative and Alternative Communication)
Visual instruction with written language
Visual instruction with pictures or drawings
Modeling by therapist/researcher
Hand over hand: therapist/researcher leads the actions of the participant
Prompting: therapist/researcher touches the participant as a key for further actions
Guided discovery: therapist/researcher coaches the participant so s/he discovers how to use the assistive technology
Modeling by peer
Visual instruction by peer
Verbal instruction by peer
Involvement
Adult: therapist/educator/researcher
Parent or significant others
Peer with disabilities
Peer without disabilities
Role
Non-participatory observer
Participatory observer
Providing instruction
After the instruction, providing supervision during play
Evaluation
Evaluation of objectives and outcome measures
Description of outcome measure(s)
Observation by professional/researcher providing the play experience
Observation by other professional/researcher
Video analysis
Feedback from client/parents/professionals
(validated and reliable) outcome measures like tests, self-reports of client/system, questionnaires
Information about availability of outcome measure: publisher, website, contact person
www.roboticsandlearning.org Prof. Patrizia Marti, patrizia.marti@unisi.it Iolanda Iacono PhD, iolanda.iacono@gmail.it
Achievements
Summary of achieved effects
IROMEC robot seemed to have had a positive influence on the children's individual development. IROMEC contributes to: - help children to engange in play - improve the social inclusion; - facilitate the learning enviorment; - facilitate the mediation child-human and child-child - transfer some of the skills learned during the sessions with the robots The use of IROMEC with children with ADHD and some traits of autism seems to be advantageous due to its mobile characteristics, which facilitate the needs of children with this specific disorder more explicitly.
References
References to the intervention or research project
Contact Person
Prof. Patrizia Marti, patrizia.marti@unisi.it Iolanda Iacono, iolanda.iacono@unisi.it
Website
www.roboticsandlearning.org
Publication
- Marti, P. Materials of Embodied Interaction. Proceedings of 14th ACM International Conference on Multimodal Interaction, ICMI 2012, Santa Monica, California. October 22-26th, 2012. - Iacono, I. Lehmann, H. Marti, P. Robins, B. Dautenhahn, K. Robots as Social Mediators for Children with Autism – A Preliminary Analysis Comparing Two Different Robotic Platforms. Proceedings of the First International Conference on Development and Learning (ICDL) and the International Conference on Epigenetic Robotics (EpiRob), Frankfurt, Germany, 24-27 August 2011. - Lehmann, H. Iacono, I. Robins, B. Marti, P. Dautenhahn, K. „Make it move“: Playing cause and effect games with a robot companion for children with cognitive disabilities. Proceedings of the 29th annual conference of the European Association of Cognitive Ergonomics, ECCE 2011, “Designing Collaborative Activities, August 24th – 26th, 2011; Rostock, Germany. - Marti, P. Iacono, I. Learning Through Play With a Robot Companion. Proceedings of the 11th European Conference for the Advancement of Assistive Technology, AAATE 2011, August 31 – September 2, 2011, Maastricht, the Netherlands. - Marti, P. Perceiving while being perceived. International Journal of Design, 4(2), 2010. - Marti, P. “Bringing playfulness to disability” Proceedings of the 6th Nordic Conference on Human-Computer Interaction, NordiCHI 2010, Reykjavik, Iceland, 17-20 October 2010. - Marti, P. Iacono, I. Oliverio, M. Il Robot Come Compagno Di Gioco Nella Disabilità Infantile. Atti del IX Congresso Nazionale della Società Italiana di Ergonomia, “Ergonomia, Valore sociale e sostenibilità, Roma, 27-29 Ottobre 2010. - Marti P., Giusti L. A Robot Companion for Inclusive Games: a user-centred design perspective. In: Proceedings of the IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation. Anchorage, Alaska, USA, 3-8 May 2010. - Robins, B. Ferrari, E. Dautenhahn, K. Kronrief, G. Prazak, B. Gerderblom, G.J. Bernd, T. Caprino, F. Laudanna, E. Marti, P. Human-centred Design Methods: Developing Scenarios for Robot Assisted Play Informed by User Panels and Field Trials. International Journal of Human Computer Studies, 2010, Volume 68 Issue 12, 873-898, December, 2010, ISSN: 1071-5819. DOI - Marti, P. Giusti, L. Pollini, A. Exploring play styles with a robot companion. Proceedings of IEEE RO-MAN 2009, 18th IEEE International Symposium on Robot and Human Interactive Communication, 27 September – 2 October 2009, Toyama, Japan. - Marti, P., Giusti, A., Rullo, A. Robots as social Mediators: field trials with children with special needs. Proceedings of the AAATE Conference, Firenze, 31 Agosto – 2 Settembre. In: Emiliani, P.L., Burzagli, L., Como, A., Gabbanini, F., Salminen, A.L. (Eds) Adaptive Technology from adapted equipment to inclusive environments, Amsterdam, Olanda: IOS Press, 165-169, 2009. - Marti, P., Giusti, L., Pollini, A., Rullo, A. (2009) Expressiveness in human-robot interaction. IxD&A – Interaction Design & Architecture(s), “Design for the Future Experience” N. 5&6, 2009, pp93-98, ISSN 1826-9745, ISBN 978-88-88044-14-9 pp. 23 – 30. Special issue: Computer Human Interaction Italy 2009 – CHItaly’09 (Roma, 17-19 June 2009). ACM SIGCHI Italy (ed.). IxD&A, 2009. - Marti, P. Moderini, C. Giusti, L. Pollini, A. A Robotic Toy for Children with special needs: From requirements to Design. Proceedings of ICORR09, The 11th IEEE International Conference in Rehabilitation Robotics “Reaching Users & the Community” 23-26 June 2009 Kyoto, Japan. - Marti, P. Critical Factors related to Design and Development. In S. Besio (ed.) Analysis of Critical Factors involved in using interactive robots for education and therapy of children with disabilities, UNIService Trento, 2009. ISBN 978-886178-401-7.
Keywords
Keywords
Example: Robots, Virtual Games, Mobile Phone, Public Playground, Adapted Toys
IROMEC Children Autism Cognitve Disabilities Motor Disabilities Play Human-Robot Interaction
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