Interaction of an emotion responsive robot and children with autism spectrum disorder using controller based on proxemics

Abstract

Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) who are diagnosed early and therefore receive appropriate treatment can improve their development. One way to encourage them is using social robots. This Master’s Dissertation presents an improvement for the robot created by the Assistive Technology and Robotics Group at UFES using proxemics. A new control law using the Workspace concept and an internal representation with an external visualization of the robot’s emotional state are also presented. The Robot Operating System (ROS) is incorporated into the design to facilitate modifications and adaptations. The results show that proxemics influences the robot’s controllability, as proposed through the State Machine, and respects the child’s wishes, and that the robot is able to simulate emotions during its movement and according to its interaction with the child.