Thesis Project Form

Some cognitive disabilities are characterised by specific social, relational and emotional behaviours. The project involves the study of the motor, emotional and relational reactions of children involved in ludic activities conducted by educators with the help of a humanoid robot.

The first objective of this work is the creation of a Robot-Sensors system that can be easily inserted in a playful context (e.g. hospital game room, school) and can be used by children affected by the autism syndrome and/or by neuromuscular diseases. In this regard, the thesis project will be included within a large multidisciplinary project at the Gaslini Pediatric Hospital. An intervention protocol will be created with specific playful activities, proposed interactively, through the humanoid robot NAO. This protocol will include specific activities, which also involve educational aspects, always proposed in a playful way but with objectives related to relationships, social stories and the recognition of emotions (own and external). During the execution of these protocol, the vital and performance parameters will be monitored and sent to the NAO robot, which can use them to adapt the parameters of the exercises and record them for future processing. Furthermore, the interaction between the robot and the children involved will be evaluated (both motor and emotional aspects).
Specifically, the project involves an initial analysis of the available technologies, followed by programming the robot-sensors system and the definition of the set-up, including the communication with the robot, and finally the test with the analysis of the data collected. Some phases, such as the latter, given the government's COVID provisions, may be modulated to ensure the safety of children and operators. An alternative possibility could be to make the platform accessible online, where a virtual or video-conference robot can interact with children with the same functions and purposes as in presence.

The student will learn:
- to use (and eventually develop) sensors and data acquisition systems
-to use different programming languages
-to analyse behavioural data and signals
-to use of the humanoid robot NAO and related communication protocols
-to interact with patients and clinical staff