Driving babies pave road for disabled kids

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Driving babies pave road for disabled kids

Wheeled robots could help immobile children explore the world

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22345882/

Six-month-old Aniya uses a joystick to guide a wheeled robot.

Researchers believe the robot could help disabled infants move and

explore the world around them, which studies suggest is critical to

their development.

With a 6-month-old at the controls, researchers at the University of

Delaware are encouraging underage driving.

Their ultimate goal is to help immobile, disabled children move and

explore.

The researchers are using robotics in an odd contraption that's sort

of a cross between a bumper car and a robot. In a recent test, Aniya

, a normally developing 6-month-old, scooted across the floor

in delight by pushing a joystick on the little vehicle. She's too

young to steer it.

" I think she thinks, 'Joystick means go.' I'll take that right now, "

said Cole Galloway, a physical therapy professor who heads the

infant motor behavior lab.

He and the other researchers believe the robot, dubbed UD1, holds

the promise of opening up new horizons for disabled infants,

especially those with orthopedic problems or muscular dystrophy.

Wheeled robots could enable them to move and explore the world

around them, which studies suggest is critical to their development.

Researchers in the United Kingdom have been working for years on

powered mobility for toddlers. However, Galloway said, conventional

wisdom has held that because of safety issues, children aren't

considered ready for that until age 4 or 5; the earliest age doctors

might recommend powered mobility is age 3.

That means too many children are at risk of losing out on the

important early link between mobility and their overall development,

he said.

" As soon as you're reaching, as soon as you're walking, your

cognition explodes, " Galloway explained.

Sunil Agrawal, a professor of mechanical engineering at the

university, has been working for years on wheeled robots with

infrared and sonar sensors that can avoid obstacles. A prototype

based on those models is being used in studies involving about a

dozen typically developing infants and a smaller number who have

special needs.

Using a computer and wireless technology, researchers can measure

the frequency and duration of joystick use by a child; the location,

speed, and distance traveled by the vehicle; and the amount of time

spent " driving. "

During a recent visit, Aniya sat in UD1's blue plastic seat and

tugged on the joystick as her aunt, Daina Montgomery, beckoned from

a few feet away with a toy. The little girl whirred across the floor

to her aunt.

The researchers believe the robot, dubbed UD1, holds the promise of

opening up new horizons for disabled infants, especially those with

orthopedic problems or muscular dystrophy.

While Aniya has no disabilities, her aunt believes the mobility

experiment has helped her move rapidly from an early stage crawl to

being able to climb stairs and pull herself up.

Galloway and Agrawal said their research is still early, and parents

shouldn't expect to see robotic vehicles on the market anytime soon.

They hope to get funding to continue their research and develop a

second-generation robot.

A few similar products are already commercially available in

England, including the " Wizzybug. " It was developed by researchers

at the Bath Institute of Medical Engineering for disabled 2- to 5-

year-olds. While it doesn't have some of the robotic features of

UD1, the Wizzybug has both a programmable joystick and parental

control.

Nina , a research occupational therapist at the institute, said

children using the Wizzybug are able to sit in a safe and functional

position while learning about movement.

Ruth Everard of Dragonmobility Ltd. in Cambridge, England, another

producer of powered vehicles, said the research at the University of

Delaware should add to the existing body of knowledge about mobility

and the developmental needs of children.

" I think it's really important that people combine their knowledge

and look at what's been done before, " she said.

Everard, who suffers from spinal muscular atrophy, was 21 months old

when her father designed a powered chair for her, spawning a company

that has provided mobility for children as young as 11 months old.

" I find it tiring that I'm still being told it's cutting edge, and

I'm 28, " she said.