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Cross-Collaborative Approach to Socially-Assistive Robotics: A Case Study of Humanoid Robots in a Therapeutic Intervention for Autistic Children

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Social Robots: Technological, Societal and Ethical Aspects of Human-Robot Interaction

Part of the book series: Human–Computer Interaction Series ((HCIS))

Abstract

Autism is a developmental condition that can cause significant social, communication, and behavioral challenges. Children on the autism spectrum may have difficulties developing social and communication skills. A recent trend in robotics is the design and implementation of robots to assist during the therapy and education of children with learning difficulties. In this chapter, we reflect on lessons learned from a cross-collaborative research project involving a socially-assistive robot, KASPAR, as a tool to support therapy with autistic children. We provide experimental results from a small study using this humanoid robot in combination with Social Stories TM. We point to the strengths and challenges of our approach and discuss how others might use our experience as a guide to improving experimental and therapeutic outcomes.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the Adaptive Systems Research Group at the University of Hertfordshire for providing the KASPAR robot used during this study. A very special thank you to Chris, our therapist, for all his help with planning and managing the sessions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Australian e-Health Research Centre, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Sydney, Australia

    David Silvera-Tawil

  2. Art and Design, University of New South Wales (UNSW), Sydney, Australia

    Scott Andrew Brown

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  1. David Silvera-Tawil
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  2. Scott Andrew Brown
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Correspondence to David Silvera-Tawil .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Offenburg University of Applied Sciences, Offenburg, Germany

    Oliver Korn

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Silvera-Tawil, D., Brown, S.A. (2019). Cross-Collaborative Approach to Socially-Assistive Robotics: A Case Study of Humanoid Robots in a Therapeutic Intervention for Autistic Children. In: Korn, O. (eds) Social Robots: Technological, Societal and Ethical Aspects of Human-Robot Interaction. Human–Computer Interaction Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-17107-0_9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-17107-0_9

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-17106-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-17107-0

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