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Utilizing social virtual reality robot (V2R) for music education to children with high-functioning autism

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Abstract

Virtual Reality (VR) technology is a growing technology that has been used in various fields of psychology, education, and therapy. One group of potential users of VR are children with autism who need education and have poor social interactions; this technology could help them improve their social skills through real-world simulation. In this study, we evaluated the feasibility of conducting virtual music education programs with automatic assessment system for children with autism at treatment/research centers without the need to purchase a robot, resulting in the possibility of offering schedules on a larger scale and at a lower cost. Intervention sessions were conducted for five children with high-functioning autism ranging in age from 6 to 8 years old during 20 weeks which includes a baseline session, a pre-test, training sessions, a post-test, and a follow-up test. Each music education sessions involved teaching different notes and pieces of music according to the child’s cooperation, accuracy, and skill level utilizing virtual reality robots and virtual musical instruments. Actually, by analysis of psychological tests, and questionnaires conducted by a psychologist, we observe slight improvements in cognitive skills because of the ceiling effect. Nevertheless, the effectiveness of the proposed method was proved by conducting statistical analysis on the child’s performance data during the music education sessions which were obtained by using both video coding and the proposed automatic assessment system. Consequently, a general upward trend in the musical ability of participants was shown to occur in these sessions, which warrants future studies in this field.

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Data availability

All data from this project (results of questionnaires, scores of performances, videos of sessions, etc.) are available in the archive of the Social & Cognitive Robotics Laboratory.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to express our appreciation for the “Center for the Treatment of Autistic Disorders (CTAD)” and its psychologists, teachers, and staff, and thank them for all their cooperation and complementary support during this study. Moreover, we appreciate the “Dr. AliAkbar Siasi Memorial Grant” for their support of the Social & Cognitive Robotics Laboratory and also, our lab member, Mr. Seyed Ramezan Hosseini, for his invaluable cooperation.

Funding

This research was funded by Sharif University of Technology (Grant No. G980517) and the “Cognitive Sciences and Technology Council” (CSTC) of Iran (http://www.cogc.ir/) (Grant No. 95p22).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Social & Cognitive Robotics Laboratory, Center of Excellence in Design, Robotics, and Automation (CEDRA), Sharif University of Technology, Tehran, Iran

    Mojtaba Shahab, Alireza Taheri, Mohammad Mokhtari, Azadeh Shariati, Rozita Heidari, Ali Meghdari & Minoo Alemi

  2. Department of Mechanical Engineering, University College London, London, WC1E 7JE, UK

    Azadeh Shariati

  3. Department of Psychology, University of Shahid Chamran, Ahwaz, Iran

    Rozita Heidari

  4. Islamic Azad University, West-Tehran Branch, Tehran, Iran

    Minoo Alemi

Authors
  1. Mojtaba Shahab
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  2. Alireza Taheri
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  3. Mohammad Mokhtari
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  4. Azadeh Shariati
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  5. Rozita Heidari
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  6. Ali Meghdari
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  7. Minoo Alemi
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Correspondence to Alireza Taheri.

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Conflict of interest

Author Alireza Taheri and Ali Meghdari have received research support from Sharif University of Technology and the “Cognitive Sciences and Technology Council” (CSTC) of Iran, respectively. The authors Mojtaba Shahab, Mohammad Mokhtari, Azadeh Shariati, Rozita Heidari, and Minoo Alemi declare that they have no conflict of interest that is relevant to the content of this article.

Ethical approval

Ethical approval for the protocol of this study was provided by the Iran University of Medical Sciences (#IR.IUMS.REC.1395.95301469).

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Shahab, M., Taheri, A., Mokhtari, M. et al. Utilizing social virtual reality robot (V2R) for music education to children with high-functioning autism. Educ Inf Technol 27, 819–843 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-020-10392-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-020-10392-0

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