The family of disorders commonly known as autism is characterized by a deficit in social interaction and restricted repetitive and stereotyped patterns of behaviours, activities and interests. Motor disturbances are not part of the diagnosis of the children with autism but some studies have estimated that between 80 and 90% of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) demonstrate some degree of motor impairments.Several therapies have been used for the improvement of motor skills and all of them had behavioural improvements as side effects. These facts confirm the importance of this area. Recently it was discovered that motor, imitation and social abilities are all related in people with autism. In this worka humanoid robot is used to create a therapy that unites all these areas. A system was created involving a robot (NAO), a Kinect camera and Personal Computer, with the goal of providing interaction between therapist and a child with ASD in a physical therapy session. To improve the imitation abilities of the child, the robot was programmed to mirror both the child as the therapist. Different tracking systems were tested but the one which presented the best features was the Kinect. Two protocols were developed in which the main actor changes. In the first protocol, the master is the robot. It decides the exercise and gives feedbacks to both the therapist and the child. The decision on the exercise sequence is given to the therapist on the second protocol implemented. To make it more interactive, the protocol was changed in the clinics to trained gesture imitation. For the robot master protocol, the space theme was chosen, and for the therapist master protocol, the theme of the sports , that was already performed by the children in the usual therapy was adopted. In this way, the system was tested in two different children revealing a different reaction in each of them and demonstrating the importance of this imitation game can have in the treatment of this disease.
La famiglia di malattie comunemente nota come autismo è caratterizzata da un deficit nell'interazione sociale, da movimenti ripetitivi e limitati e da schemi stereotipati di comportamenti, attività ed interessi. I disturbi motori non vengono considerati per diagnosticare l’autismo nei bambini, ma alcuni studi hanno stimato che l'80-90$\%$ dei bambini con disturbi dello spettro autistico mostrano un certo grado di problemi motori. Alcune terapie sono state sviluppate per migliorare le capacità motorie e tutte hanno mostrato come effetto collaterale miglioramenti comportamentali. Recentemente è stato scoperto che le abilità motorie imitative e sociali presentano una relazione in individui con autismo, la quale sarà esplorata in questo lavoro attraverso l'uso di robot. Il sistema creato è costituito da un robot (NAO), una telecamera Kinect e un computer portatile il cui obiettivo è quello di mostrare l'interazione tra bambino e terapeuta durante una sessione di fisioterapia. Per facilitare le capacità di imitazione del bambino, il robot è stato programmato per rispecchiare sia il bambino che il terapeuta. Sono stati testati diversi sistemi di rilevamento, ma quello che ha fornito risultati migliori è stato il Kinect. Nello specifico, sono stati sviluppati due protocolli che differiscono per il soggetto principale che conduce l’azione. Nel primo protocollo è il robot che mostra l'esercizio e dà feedback sia al terapeuta che al bambino, mentre nel secondo è il terapeuta che decide la sequenza degli esercizi. Al fine di renderlo più interattivo, il protocollo è stato sviluppato in ambito clinico così da addestrare l'imitazione dei gesti. Per il primo protocollo è stato scelto il tema dello spazio mentre per il secondo il tema dello sport, già praticato dai bambini autistici nella terapia tradizionale. Il sistema è stato testato su due bambini autistici portando a risultati diversi nei due casi e dimostrando l'importanza che questo "gioco di imitazione" può avere nel trattamento della malattia.
CopyRobot : interactive mirroring robotics game for ASD children
2017/2018
Abstract
The family of disorders commonly known as autism is characterized by a deficit in social interaction and restricted repetitive and stereotyped patterns of behaviours, activities and interests. Motor disturbances are not part of the diagnosis of the children with autism but some studies have estimated that between 80 and 90% of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) demonstrate some degree of motor impairments.Several therapies have been used for the improvement of motor skills and all of them had behavioural improvements as side effects. These facts confirm the importance of this area. Recently it was discovered that motor, imitation and social abilities are all related in people with autism. In this worka humanoid robot is used to create a therapy that unites all these areas. A system was created involving a robot (NAO), a Kinect camera and Personal Computer, with the goal of providing interaction between therapist and a child with ASD in a physical therapy session. To improve the imitation abilities of the child, the robot was programmed to mirror both the child as the therapist. Different tracking systems were tested but the one which presented the best features was the Kinect. Two protocols were developed in which the main actor changes. In the first protocol, the master is the robot. It decides the exercise and gives feedbacks to both the therapist and the child. The decision on the exercise sequence is given to the therapist on the second protocol implemented. To make it more interactive, the protocol was changed in the clinics to trained gesture imitation. For the robot master protocol, the space theme was chosen, and for the therapist master protocol, the theme of the sports , that was already performed by the children in the usual therapy was adopted. In this way, the system was tested in two different children revealing a different reaction in each of them and demonstrating the importance of this imitation game can have in the treatment of this disease.| File | Dimensione | Formato | |
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2018_12_Santos.pdf
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https://hdl.handle.net/10589/145547