Driveable Robots for Babies Who Need Them
From: IEEE Spectrum - 08/30/2012
By: Evan Ackerman

Babies, as you may have noticed if you own one, like to get into all sorts of
mischief, and studies show that exploring and interacting with the world is
important for cognitive development. Babies who can't move around as well may
not develop at the same rate as babies who can, which is why researchers from
Ithaca College in New York are working on a way to fuse babies with robots to
give mobility to all babies, even those with conditions that may delay
independent mobility, like Down syndrome, spina bifida, or cerebral palsy. 

The robots in question, called WeeBots, are Adept MobileRobots Pioneer P3-DX
bases. On top of the bases are Nintendo Wii balance boards, which are
rectangular platforms with load sensors at the corners. A commercial infant
seat is placed on top of the balance board, and the robot can then be
calibrated to move in whichever direction the baby leans. You might think
that a six month old baby wouldn't necessarily have the facility to control a
robot like this, but they catch on surprisingly quickly. 

Read the entire article and view a video (2:39) at:
http://spectrum.ieee.org/automaton/robotics/medical-robots/weebots-driveable-robots-for-babies-who-need-them/

Links:
How Baby-Driven Robots Could Help Disabled Children
http://www.livescience.com/22606-baby-driven-robots-take-another-step-forward.html

WeeBot: A Novel Method for Infant Control of a Robotic Mobility Device
http://faculty.ithaca.edu/sstansfield/docs/Publications/ICRA2012.pdf

Development of robotic mobility for infants: rationale and outcomes
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S003194061200065X