Eliciting Requirements for a Robotic Toy for Children with Autism - Results from User Panels

— The discussion presented in this paper is part of our investigation in the IROMEC project which recognizes the important role of play in child development. The project investigates how robotic toys can become social mediators, encouraging children with disabilities to discover a range of play styles, from solitary to social and cooperative play (with peers, carers/teachers, parents etc). This paper presents design issues for such robotic toys related specifically to children with autism as the end user target group. In order to understand the play needs of this user group, and to investigate how robotic toys could be used as a play tool to assist in the children’s development, a panel of experts (therapists, teachers, parents) was formed and interviewed. Results of expert panel interviews highlight key points characterizing the play of children with autism, and key points for consideration in the design of future robotic toys.

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2007
• Where: roman
• Authors: Ben Robins, Nuno Otero, Ester Ferrari, Kerstin Dautenhahn
• Keywords: Future Robotic Toys, Play Styles, Robotic Toys, Robotics, ROMAN 2007