Therapeutic Robot to Teach Social Skills to Primary School Children with ASD

治疗机器人教授患有自闭症谱系障碍的小学生社交技能

• 批准号: 7172787
• 负责人: CORINNA E LATHAN
• 金额: $ 12.28万
• 依托单位: ANTHROTRONIX, INC.
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 2006
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2006-09-25 至 2007-05-24
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/7172787
• 关键词: artificial intelligence; autism; behavior modification; behavior test; behavioral /social science research tag; bioengineering /biomedical engineering; child psychology; clinical research; communication; computer simulation; educational resource design /development; face expression; field study; human subject; human therapy evaluation; interactive multimedia; interpersonal relations; middle childhood (6-11); questionnaires; robotics; social behavior; social integration; videotape /videodisc

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Project Summary/Abstract: This project is part of a long-term effort to reduce the burdens and disability associated with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). The majority of adults and adolescents who have an ASD diagnosis do not have mental retardation, and are notable for their language abilities, which in many cases appear intact. Nevertheless, these individuals fail to achieve vocational success consonant with their intellectual level, and may be unable to form friendships and relationships outside their family. The specific aim of the project is to develop a training simulation to improve these individuals' ability to participate in social conversation. Equipped with basic conversational skills, individuals with ASD may gain more opportunities to interact and improve the quality of their relationships. The applicant is using technology it originally developed to create training simulations for specialized social interactions (e.g., for an interviewer to detect suicide risk in a soldier). The training simulation is based on a complex model of the simulated character's shifting emotional state in response to the history of the conversation, the user's most recent response, and an element of chance. The simulation includes a database of hundreds of video clips performed by a professional actor, and a large set of responses available for the user to speak or select by mouse click. The system offers help features, with straightforward explanations of the simulated character's reactions, and guidance with response choice; an on-screen coach who provides overt signals in response to the appropriateness of the user's response choice; playback options, so that the user can review parts or all of an interaction; and game features: points for success and cheering for improved scores and ultimately achieving the game's objective, agreement of the simulated character to another meeting with the user. The simulation content will be developed by the applicant's skilled script-writers with input from an autism researcher from Catholic University, then reviewed prior to video by three research and clinical specialists in ASD and a gentleman who himself has ASD, prior to videotaping. Usability field-testing will be conducted with 10 members of the target population. Data representing their use of the simulation and its features will be automatically logged, and they will respond to a debriefing questionnaire. Any modifications indicated will be incorporated into the more extensive simulation to be proposed for Phase II funding. Project Narrative: This project will adapt a therapeutic toy robot, CosmoBot, in order to engage children with severe social delays associated with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in activities to promote development of social skills. The toy robot will be equipped with sets of game programs from which therapists can choose. Therapists in 2 locations will test the therapeutic toy and its social games with 10 primary-school-aged children who have these impairments, in order to evaluate how easy the system is to use, how much it appeals to the children, and whether it has positive effects on children's social skills.

描述（由申请人提供）：项目摘要/摘要：该项目是减轻自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）的负担和残疾的长期努力的一部分。大多数拥有ASD诊断的成年人和青少年都没有智力低下，并且以其语言能力而闻名，在许多情况下，这似乎完好无损。然而，这些人未能与他们的智力层面取得一致的职业成功，也可能无法在家庭之外建立友谊和人际关系。该项目的具体目的是开发培训模拟，以提高这些人参与社交对话的能力。拥有基本的对话能力的人，拥有ASD的个人可能会获得更多机会来互动和改善其关系的质量。申请人正在使用它最初开发的技术来为专业的社交互动创建培训模拟（例如，访问员发现士兵中的自杀风险）。训练模拟基于模拟角色的复杂模型，以响应对话的历史，用户的最新响应以及机会元素，这是基于模拟角色转移的情绪状态。该仿真包括一个由专业演员执行的数百个视频剪辑的数据库，以及可供用户通过鼠标单击的大量响应。该系统提供了帮助功能，并简单地解释了模拟角色的反应，并提供了响应选择的指导；屏幕上的教练，他为用户响应选择的适当性提供明显的信号；播放选项，以便用户可以查看零件或所有交互；和游戏功能：成功的积分和为提高分数的欢呼，并最终达到与用户另一个会议的模拟角色的目标，同意。仿真内容将由申请人的熟练脚本作者开发，并由天主教大学的自闭症研究人员的意见进行，然后在ASD的三位研究和临床专家和一位本人拥有ASD的绅士之前对视频进行了审查，并在录像带之前对其进行了审查。可用性现场测试将与目标人群的10名成员进行。代表其使用模拟及其功能的数据将自动记录，他们将对汇报问卷进行响应。所指出的任何修改都将被纳入更广泛的模拟中，以用于II期资金。项目叙述：该项目将适应一种治疗性玩具机器人Cosmobot，以使与自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）相关的严重社交延迟的儿童参与活动，以促进社交技能的发展。玩具机器人将配备治疗师可以选择的游戏程序集。在两个地方的治疗师将与10个具有这些障碍的小学生的治疗玩具及其社交游戏测试，以评估系统使用的容易程度，对儿童的吸引力以及对儿童社交技能的积极影响。