Network Analysis of an Infant’s Motor Actions Performed in a Robot-Assisted Learning Environment

Providing infants with opportunities to engage in a variety of motor actions early in life impacts their later development. Our recent work utilizes socially assistive robots (SARs) and body weight support (BWS) technology to provide infants such opportunities. This paper examines the motor actions demonstrated by an infant with Down syndrome during their spontaneous interactions with the SARs and while using BWS assistance. The infant participated in eight 1-hour sessions over the course of four weeks. By using methodological tools from social networks, we identify and describe the complex nature of the infant’s motor actions displayed during interaction with both types of technology over time. The changes in these networks informs the development of robot-assisted learning environments that can be applied at this critical life period.