Playful interaction with Teo, a Mobile Robot for Children with Neurodevelopmental Disorders

Teo is a mobile robot designed for children with Neuro- Developmental Disorder (NDD). Teo’s behavior can be remotely controlled by the caregiver or autonomously activated by effect of internal sensors or an external depth sensor. Teo has a soft body that can react to different types of touch (e.g., hugs, punches, or slaps); it can move freely on the floor and can manifest emotional reactions (through light, sound, and movement effects). Our robot can be used for therapy-driven game-based activities as well as free play. The latter involve spontaneous interaction with Teo and free exploration of its affordances, to facilitate children’s familiarization with the robot and to promote socialization, positive emotions, and self-expression skills. The paper describes the design of Teo and examples of free play activities that can be performed with the robot. We also report the main results of the exploratory studies that have been performed at 2 therapeutic centers and have involved 11 children with NDD, highlighting the benefits of free play with Teo.