The CosmoBotTM System: Evaluating its Usability in Therapy Sessions with Children Diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy

* This study was supported by NIH SBIR Phase I (R43 HD042353-01A1). CosmoBotTM System Development and Evaluation has been supported by NSF SBIR Phase I and II grants (DMI-0239183), Department of Education Phase I and II grants (H133S030037), and by the RERC on Telerehabilitation projects (H133E990007, H133E040012). Abstract The CosmoBotTM system has been designed and developed for therapy, education, and play. Children interact with CosmoBotTM, controlling the robot’s movements and audio output, using a variety of gestural sensors and speech recognition, while actively targeting their therapy goals. We evaluated the usability of CosmoBotTM to contribute to physical therapy intervention for upper extremity movements in children with cerebral palsy who are patients of the Outpatient Rehabilitation Program at Mount Washington Pediatric Hospital in Cheverly, MD. The results of this study showed that the CosmoBot system provided great motivation for the children during the therapy sessions, was easy for the therapist to set up and use, and alleviated the therapist’s job of trying to engage the children in therapy.