ROBOT-ASSISTED AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER (ASD) INTERVENTIONS: A MULTI-ROBOT APPROACH – SOFTCOM 2020, HVAR, CROATIA

Abstract

The use of social robots in special education has been the subject of numerous research studies in recent years. The objective of these studies is to use robots as tools in order to facilitate and enhance supporting interventions in special education. The research so far generally shows that robotassisted interventions yield several benefits. For the most part, these are approaches utilizing a single robot and a child. This limits the range of the skills that can be addressed during the intervention, such as social skills group training, which are essential in everyday life. As a means to overcome this problem, this paper proposes the use of multiple heterogeneous robots in ASD interventions, each having a different role in a group, where the child practices its social and communication skills. The proposed scenarios and implementation details are discussed, and the results of the pilot session are presented. The study revealed that the child demonstrated a high engagement level and eagerness to participate in the activities.

Citation

Lytridis, C., Papadopoulou, C.I., Papakostas, G.A., Kaburlasos, V.G., Nikopoulou, V.A., Kerasidou, M.D., Dalivigkas, N.: Robot-Assisted Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) Interventions: A Multi-Robot Approach. In: 2020 International Conference on Software, Telecommunications and Computer Networks (SoftCOM). pp. 1–4 (2020). https://doi.org/10.23919/SoftCOM50211.2020.9238273.

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