Physical Human-Robot Interaction Influence in ASD Therapy Through an Affordable Soft Social Robot

Abstract

In the latest years, there has been a rise in social robotics' interest as a support tool in various scopes. For instance, social robots have been used in Autism treatments, improving social skills, social interaction, and children's daily activities performance. Although several studies elucidate the benefits of social robots in the ASD community, few focus on evaluating and promoting physical interaction. Thus, this study presents the development and assessment of a social robotic platform based on soft actuation to promote physical interaction. A total of 35 children diagnosed with autism were involved in this study. The primary outcomes show that physical interaction does not significantly influence the patient's performance in the activity. However, the clinicians remark that encouragement and motivation increase when the children were allowed to interact with the robot physically. Also, 52.9% of the control group children elucidate the intention of physically interact with the robot, suggesting this behavior is an essential way of communication.