Instrumented toys for assessing spatial cognition in infants

doi:10.1007/s11465-011-0208-0

Front Mech Eng

2011, Vol. 6

Issue (1) : 82-88 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11465-011-0208-0

RESEARCH ARTICLE

Instrumented toys for assessing spatial cognition in infants

Domenico CAMPOLO¹(

), Fabrizio TAFFONI², Domenico FORMICA², Flavio KELLER², Eugenio GUGLIELMELLI²

1. School of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore; 2. Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, via Alvaro del Portillo 21, 00128 Roma, Italy

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Abstract

This paper describes an interdisciplinary approach to the assessment on infants’ behavior, with a focus on the technology. The goal is an objective, quantitative analysis of concurrent maturation of sensory, motor and cognitive abilities in young children, in relation to the achievement of developmental milestones. An instrumented block-box toy specifically developed to assess the ability to insert objects into holes is presented. The functional specifications are derived from experimental protocols devised by neuroscientists to assess spatial cognition skills. Technological choices are emphasized with respect to ecological requirements. An ad hoc calibration procedure is also presented which is suitable to unstructured environments. Finally, preliminary tests carried out at a local day-care with 12–24 months old infants are presented which prove the in-field usability of the proposed technology.

Keywords inertial-magnetic sensing in-field calibration neuro-developmental engineering ecological assessment

Corresponding Author(s): CAMPOLO Domenico,Email:d.campolo@ntu.edu.sg

Issue Date: 05 March 2011

Cite this article:

Domenico CAMPOLO,Fabrizio TAFFONI,Domenico FORMICA, et al. Instrumented toys for assessing spatial cognition in infants[J]. Front Mech Eng, 2011, 6(1): 82-88.

URL:

https://academic.hep.com.cn/fme/EN/10.1007/s11465-011-0208-0
https://academic.hep.com.cn/fme/EN/Y2011/V6/I1/82

Fig.1 Selection chart of different motion tracking technologies

Fig.2 Block-box experimental scenario (top). Different cross-sections (bottom) for the cylindrical blocks and the relative number of insertion possibilities (‘inf’ means infinite), readapted from []

Fig.3 Kinematics sensing unit (top left). Bluetooth transmitting unit (top right). Examples of assemblies of electronics and batteries for shells with different cross-section (bottom)

Fig.4 Block-box platform architecture

Fig.5 Calibration sequences for magnetometers (a) and accelerometers (b), plots of the measurements (i.e., voltages , and from the triaxial sensors) derived from the calibration sequences for the magnetometers (c) and the accelerometers (d)

Fig.6 In-field experiments with the block-box

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