Exploring the Use of Assistive Robots, Smart Sensing and Digital Twin Models for Monitoring and Support of A-T in Non-Clinical Environments

Research Project information

Principal researcher:  Professor Praminda Caleb-Solly
Institute: University of Nottingham
Cost: £19,997 over 6 months
Start Date: 1^st of October 2024

What are the researchers proposing to do?
This project will focus on exploring engaging ways to support children between the ages of 5 and 10 with A-T, and their parents, to better understand and self-manage their activities through the day. The aim is to investigate whether simple sensors that measure overall movement and physical activity might be able to capture information regarding levels of energy used over time. They will then co-design how this information can be communicated to the children, in a personalised, engaging and easily understandable manner, that can assist them with getting the most out of their days and balance their activities to self-manage and regulate their limited energy reserves.

The project will explore three key aspects:

1. To what extent might non-obtrusive sensors provide reliable metrics for mapping physical activities over the day
2. How could this sensor data be incorporated into a smart guidance system (such as an intelligent robot ‘coach’) to provide proactive support for helping to balance physical activity with energy conservation to improve overall well-being and quality of life
3. What is required and acceptable to the children, their parents and health care professionals, in terms of the data collected, clinical use of the data, and form factors of the sensors and intelligent robot coach.

This project will lay the groundwork for a larger study into the effectiveness of using intelligent robotic “toys” as “coach” to provide information regarding individual activity/energy expenditure patterns to guide with structuring and balancing daily activities.

Why?
Children living with A-T can tire easily. Enhanced effort is needed to complete activities of daily living and the increased energy expended due to abnormal tone and extra movements all contribute to physical and mental fatigue. Managing their energy levels and understanding how best to balance play, activities in school and home, can be a challenge, both for the children and their parents. This in turn can affect their well-being and social interactions. Being able to achieve a good balance, based on individual conditions and contexts, can result in real quality of life benefits, both for the children with A-T, as well as their parents. However, knowing when to rest and how best to conserve energy, while maintaining a good level of physical activity can be very difficult, particularly as the impact of A-T changes over time. This project will investigate the innovative use of smart sensing and intelligent robotics to explore whether, and how energy used during various activities, can be monitored effectively and accurately, and provide this information to the child in an accessible and engaging manner so that they can self-regulate and self-manage their activities throughout the day.

How will the research be done?
The team will use a co-design process, which will involve working directly with children with A-T and their parents, alongside Occupational Therapy and Physiotherapy specialists from the Nottingham Children’s Hospital. They will adopt a participatory design approach, working on a one-to-one basis with A-T children and therapists.
They have designed a programme of work that will help them to learn how smart sensing and robotics technologies could be individualised and personalised based on specific and changing needs.
The team will start by understanding the requirement for the sensors, through clinician and patient engagement, conducting workshops and observation of A-T assessment sessions to inform how sensors could be used to measure and map physical activity to help create a sensor data specification and collection plan. They aim to collect data first from participants in the clinic, then with a few A-T children in their Cobot Maker Space Living Lab at the University of Nottingham, and finally from A-T children in their home over a 2-week period.

In parallel, they will scope the requirements for an intelligent robot toy “Coach” prototype by developing a series of simulated actions and behaviours for testing with participants. This will involve organising a series of user co-design and play-testing workshops, where the robot prototypes will be demonstrated and feedback given on preferred embodiments and context of use. They will then administer demonstration sessions with 5 A-T children and their parents in the Cobot Maker Space where they will carry out further testing of the prototypes to get more feedback and gather requirements for the Human-Robot Interaction and a conceptual framework of how such robots could work as a “coach” using the sensor data. The data collected from the sensors will be integrated into a machine learning model, using the concept of a Digital Twin (DT) which incorporates information such as general physical movement, gait parameters, and other relevant biomechanical movement variables to calculate a parameter for energy expended.

How could it make a difference in the lives of those affected by A-T?
The aim of this research is to conduct initial studies and co-design, which will serve as the groundwork for a larger study to help those affected by A-T to improve their quality of life and well-being by being able to self-manage and self-regulate their activities, so as to optimise use of their limited energy levels. The team also hope to make the experience of participating in research workshops fun and educational for the children with A-T and their parents, as we co-design potential robot-based solutions in a playful manner.

In the longer-term, the findings of this study could lead to improved quantification and measurement of the clinical progression of A-T and its impact on the lives of those affected.