PlayCube: Designing a tangible playware module for human-robot interaction

Abstract

In general, humans can express their intents effortlessly. On the contrary, individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) present impairments in this area. Researchers are employing different technological strategies in order to improve the emotion recognition skills of individuals with ASD. Among those technological solutions, the use of Objects based on Playware Technology (OPT) in context of serious games is getting increasing attention. Following this trend, the present work proposes the development of an OPT module to be used as an add-on to the human-robot interaction with children with ASD in emotion recognition activities. To evaluate the proposed approach, usability tests with typically developing children in a school environment were conducted. Overall, the different evaluations allow estimating how the children interacted with the OPT.