Using virtual robot-mediated play activities to assess cognitive skills

Abstract

Purpose: To evaluate the feasibility of using virtual robot-mediated play activities to assess cognitive skills. Method: Children with and without disabilities utilized both a physical robot and a matching virtual robot to perform the same play activities. The activities were designed such that successfully performing them is an indication of understanding of the underlying cognitive skills. Results: Participants' performance with both robots was similar when evaluated by the success rates in each of the activities. Session video analysis encompassing participants’ behavioral, interaction and communication aspects revealed differences in sustained attention, visuospatial and temporal perception, and self-regulation, favoring the virtual robot. Conclusions: The study shows that virtual robots are a viable alternative to the use of physical robots for assessing children’s cognitive skills, with the potential of overcoming limitations of physical robots such as cost, reliability and the need for on-site technical support.

Implications for Rehabilitation

• Virtual robots can provide a vehicle for children to demonstrate cognitive understanding.

• Virtual and physical robots can be used as augmentative manipulation tools allowing children with disabilities to actively participate in play, educational and therapeutic activities.

• Virtual robots have the potential of overcoming limitations of physical robots such as cost, reliability and the need for on-site technical support.

• Augmented manipulation
• cognitive skills assessment
• virtual robots

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Luís Azevedo, Iolanda Gil, Ana Rita Londral, Gonçalo Piedade and Sara Rodrigues for their invaluable contributions to the study described in this paper.

Notes

¹In this paper, cognitive age refers to the age equivalent provided by a standardized cognitive and developmental abilities test (e.g. the PTI [2]).

²In previous publications we have used different terms for cognitive skills: task 1 (causality), task 2 (negation), and task 3A (binary relations).

³http://www.microsoft.com/robotics/