Design of a Sensorized Ball for Ecological Behavioral Analysis of Infants

Neuro-developmental engineering is a new interdisciplinary research area at the intersection of developmental neuroscience and bioengineering. Applications can be found in early detection of neuro-developmental disorders via a new generation of mechatronic toys for assessing the regular development of perceptual and motor skills in infants, in particular coordination of mobile and multiple frames of reference during manipulation. This paper focuses on the design of a novel mechatronic toy, shaped as a 5 cm (diameter) ball, i.e. small enough to be grasped with a single hand by a 1 year old child. The sensorized ball is designed to embed a kinematics sensing unit, able to sense both the orientation in 3D space and linear accelerations, as well as a force sensing unit, to detect grasping patterns during manipulation. Dimensioning of batteries able to operate for 1 hour during experimental sessions as well as a wireless communication unit are also included in the design.