Physiological signal based interface for a robotic system to support play in children with physical disabilities

Through play children develop sensory, motor, cognitive, communication and social skills. Children with physical disabilities, who have a limited access to play, may experience negative impacts on these aspects of development. Using robots to manipulate play objects can contribute to the children’s independence, social and cognitive development. The interface with which the children control the robot needs improvement. Haptic interfaces can provide the sense of touch during interaction with objects and toys. The eyes can provide information about the toys that a child might want to manipulate. The goal of this project is to integrate a haptic interface with eye tracking technology and other physiological signals (e.g. muscle, brain, or face gestures) to support play in children with physical disabilities. Results will yield to a clearer understanding of children’s visual behavior when playing and future direction for the development of robots to support play in children with physical disabilities.

Faculty Supervisor:

Kimberley Adams

Student:

Partner:

Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo

Discipline:

Life Sciences

Sector:

University:

University of Alberta

Program:

Globalink Research Award