Infants are intense explorers. Each infant develops the ability to think, sense and move from experiences gathered during daily exploration of the world. The ability to be independently mobile through crawling and then walking is a major cause of developmental change for the infant. In their previous NSF funded project this team developed a novel robot enhanced mobility device as a model system to test hypotheses related to how an infant's mobility impacts their cognition, language and movement development. Specifically, they found that very young infants have the ability to learn to drive a 4 wheeled mobile robot before they can crawl or walk. More importantly, this early mobility advanced their cognitive, language and motor development. This early mobility was learned in a typical lab environment with no other children present. In this follow-up project, this team continues the use of mobile robotics but now with a new robot that allows infants to learn mobility and socialization within a social setting with other children. This new technology and training will allow investigators to test another key question: If early mobility that is learned in a non social setting advance cognition, can early mobility that emerges within a social setting advance early social behaviors? Here, infants will be provided with early mobility training creatively linked by a new socially mobile 4 wheeled robot that allows infant to be mobile while playing with other children. This novel robot uses a special joystick and unique tracking sensors to "encourage" the infant driver to engage in social play with other children.
This project has basic science, medical, business and educational impact. For example, it will increase our understanding of the general exploratory capacity of infants, and advance developmentally inspired robotics. The resulting training and technology will be openly shared with other basic and applied labs so that they can test the role of mobility in their areas of development. Resulting data and technology provide a foundation for the next generation of real world vehicles for use by infants born with mobility impairments. Due to the lack of technology, these infants must wait until they are 3-5 years of age before power wheelchairs are available. This team believes the significant behavioral, neurophysiological, educational and societal costs of delaying mobility are unnecessary. There is already significant medical and business interest in small wheeled vehicle that could provide real world mobility and advance a young child's development. The educational impact is equally exciting and results from the unique collaboration of robotics, psychology, early education and pediatric rehabilitation. High school and university students interested in engineering and/or child development work as valued members on meaningful aspects of this project. As with the previous NSF work, this team involves students, teachers and clinicians in robotics design, courses and seminars for early educators, webinars on topics such as developmentally inspired robotics and high tech pediatric rehabilitation. This team also maintains active relationships with graduate/undergraduate/secondary school programs with a particular interest in engaging under-represented groups in the fun and discovery of science and engineering. This team continues their push to place the lab within the community and vice versa ("civic science") such that all members of the community can participate in the fun, excitement and deep satisfaction that comes from using basic science to answer real world questions.
