Design of a Robotic Crib Mobile to Support Studies in the Early Detection of Cerebral Palsy: A Pilot Study According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, developmental disorders such as Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and Cerebral Palsy (CP) affect nearly one in six children between the ages of 3 to 17 in the United States alone. In order to improve the quality of life for these individuals, there is increased emphasis on providing early intervention at infancy, when key developmental milestones are being achieved. This however requires accurate early detection of motor development delays in atrisk infants. Our research focuses on enabling early detection through the design of a robotic crib mobile that affects infant behavior. Stimuli integrated into the robotic mobile can be used to encourage certain motions such as kicking among infants in order to study infant motor development and identify atrisk populations. In this paper, we propose the design of such a robotic crib mobile and discuss preliminary results from deploying the mobile in the infantsxe2x80x99 home environment during a pilot study.

Designing a Socially Assistive Robot for LongTerm InHome Use for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders Socially assistive robotics (SAR) research has shown great potential for supplementing and augmenting therapy for children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). However, the vast majority of SAR research has been limited to shortterm studies in highly controlled environments. The design and development of a SAR system capable of interacting autonomously it in situ for long periods of time involves many engineering and computing challenges. This paper presents the design of a fully autonomous SAR system for longterm, inhome use with children with ASD. We address design decisions based on robustness and adaptability needs, discuss the development of the robotu0027s character and interactions, and provide insights from the monthlong, inhome data collections with children with ASD. This work contributes to a larger research program that is exploring how SAR can be used for enhancing the social and cognitive development of children with ASD.