OVERVIEW

Timeline: November - December 2018 (3 weeks)

Focus: Mechatronics | Mechanical design | Assistive technology | Human-centered design

Collaborators: Anna Estep | Kathryn Khaw

The objective of this project was to design a social robot given a case study of a young boy with Autism, considering both a research rich environment and a resource poor environment. The case study describes a real child living in Philadelphia (name changed for confidentiality).

Case overview: The case presents Rick, a 12-year-old black male with Autism. He is in 7th grade and has an Individualized Education Plan, educated in a self-contained Autism Support classroom. In school he learns reading, math, social skills, and life skills. Rick enjoys watching using the computer and watching cartoons, especially his favorite: Looney Tunes. Rick is disengaged with school work and frequently disrupts the classroom, displaying externalizing behaviors. The school believes he is trying to gain attention from staff and peers. He has moderate challenges with social skills and internalizing problems with his behavior. Additionally, he has difficulty understanding facial expressions and cues.

Our team was challenged to design a social robot for the case study addressing: How might we help reduce disruption in the classroom while supporting Rick to develop positive social interactions with peers?

PROCESS

Background

We then broke down the case to better understand the relevant context and to determine how the assistive technology can benefit the subject. We also spoke to the boy’s teacher to better understand the context as well as his strengths, motivators, and challenges.

Design objectives

• Reduce disruptive behavior in the classroom

• Express the effect of disruptive behavior in the classroom (help the child understand)

• Provide positive reinforcement

• Help the user develop positive social interactions

CONCEPT

Bugz is a social robot designed for the classroom. Bugz helps signal the effect of Rick’s behavior on the classroom environment through body language, serving as an intermediary of communication between the teacher and the student, Rick.

The robot has three parts to convey emotion: the ears, eyes, and mouth. They are controlled via remote by the teacher in the classroom, who can easily signify the effect of Rick’s behavior with a happy or sad face button on the remote. Additionally, Bugz has a high-five hand button for positive reinforcement, speech interactivity, and ability to connect with educational and social games.

“Happy” and “sad” remote buttons control emotion features of Bugz

PROCESS

Design process & documentation