Communications of the ACM
Developing a Robotic Therapist For Children
Researchers at Carlos III University of Madrid are working to develop an interactive autonomous social therapist robot.
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Carlos III University of Madrid (UC3M) researchers are developing an interactive autonomous social therapist robot that can perceive patients' reactions and determine if they are doing their exercises correctly.
The goal of the project, called Therapist, is to develop a system that looks like a toy to avoid the kind of discouragement that often inhibits children's motor rehabilitation. The researchers tested the system with more than 100 patients and found the children, their parents, and the medical staff believe it makes rehabilitation more fun and attractive.
The robot, called NAO, works with medical staff to define therapies for patients that can involve the robotic system. "The main benefit is that the children see the robot as a friend; they like playing with it and they become uninhibited," says UC3M's Jose Carlos Pulido.
The researchers focused on planning tasks and automated learning, which gives the robot the ability to decide which actions it wants to complete at any given moment. The system's architecture, called Robocog, can be applied to other robot therapists, and the researchers plan to fine-tune the system's algorithms, enabling the robot to recognize the patient's gestures.
From Carlos III University of Madrid (Spain)
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