Tactile interaction with a humanoid robot for children with autism: A case study analysis involving user requirements and results of an initial implementation

The work presented in this paper is part of our investigation in the ROBOSKIN project. The project aims to develop and demonstrate a range of new robot capabilities based on the tactile feedback provided by a robotic skin. One of the project's objectives is to improve human-robot interaction capabilities in the application domain of robot-assisted play. This paper presents design challenges in augmenting a humanoid robot with tactile sensors specifically for interaction with children with autism. It reports on a preliminary study that includes requirements analysis based on a case study evaluation of interactions of children with autism with the child-sized, minimally expressive robot KASPAR. This is followed by the implementation of initial sensory capabilities on the robot that were then used in experimental investigations of tactile interaction with children with autism.