Award Abstract # 2151611
SBIR Phase I: Development of the WeeBot, an Infant-controlled Powered Ride-on Device for Children with Motor Impairments

NSF Org: TI
Translational Impacts
Recipient: ASSISTANCE IN MOTION, INC.
Initial Amendment Date: September 6, 2022
Latest Amendment Date: September 6, 2022
Award Number: 2151611
Award Instrument: Standard Grant
Program Manager: Ela Mirowski
emirowsk@nsf.gov
 (703)292-2936
TI
 Translational Impacts
TIP
 Directorate for Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships
Start Date: September 15, 2022
End Date: August 31, 2024 (Estimated)
Total Intended Award Amount: $256,000.00
Total Awarded Amount to Date: $256,000.00
Funds Obligated to Date: FY 2022 = $256,000.00
History of Investigator:
  • Carole Dennis (Principal Investigator)
    caroledennis2@gmail.com
Recipient Sponsored Research Office: ASSISTANCE IN MOTION, INC.
408 COLUMBIA ST
ITHACA
NY  US  14850-5906
(607)351-1176
Sponsor Congressional District: 19
Primary Place of Performance: ASSISTANCE IN MOTION, INC.
NY  US  14850-5906
Primary Place of Performance
Congressional District:
19
Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): DV73QTFH3KV5
Parent UEI:
NSF Program(s): SBIR Phase I
Primary Program Source: 01002223DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT
Program Reference Code(s): 7632
Program Element Code(s): 537100
Award Agency Code: 4900
Fund Agency Code: 4900
Assistance Listing Number(s): 47.084

ABSTRACT

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Phase I project is its innovative and potentially transformative contribution to assistive technologies for infants with motor impairment. In the United States, over 40,000 infants per year are born with conditions, such as cerebral palsy, spina bifida, and Down syndrome, that often result in motor impairment. There is currently no device that provides independent movement to infants with motor limitations. Since children learn a great deal about their physical and social environments when they begin to crawl/walk, conditions that deny or delay independent movement can impact cognitive, language, and social development. A device that will let these infants move and explore at the same age as other children could mitigate these developmental delays and facilitate full integration into society. Lifetime cost of healthcare for these children has been estimated at $250,000. Providing early independent movement could result in a potential $50,000 lifetime reduction in additional interventions such, as behavioral and occupational therapy, special education, and the need for healthcare and educational aides. This amounts to over $200,000,000 in savings per year to the health and education systems.


This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project addresses the need, expressed by parents and therapists, for a device that will allow infants with motor impairment to move independently at the same age as their typically developing peers. Currently, no such device is available. The intellectual merit of the proposed work is the development of a novel control method for a powered device that can be used by infants as young as 6 months old: The device moves in the direction that the infant leans (as when reaching toward a toy or parent) while preventing collisions and falls. Previous research has shown that infants as young as five months old can learn to use this control method to purposefully steer a powered device in all directions. The research objectives of this project are to build and validate a second-generation prototype that can be used by parents and clinicians outside of a research setting. Successful completion of these objectives will advance the device from a research testbed to a viable, if limited, prototype, enabling future work to evaluate the impact of the device on the development of cognitive, social, and communication skills for infants with disabilities.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

PROJECT OUTCOMES REPORT

Disclaimer

This Project Outcomes Report for the General Public is displayed verbatim as submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) for this award. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this Report are those of the PI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation; NSF has not approved or endorsed its content.

   This SBIR Phase I project was focused on developing a viable prototype of the WeeBot, a powered device designed for young children with mobility impairment or delay to allow them to explore and interact with their surroundings. There are currently few options on the market for children with mobility impairment, and none for those at the age when critical exploration typically begins (6-12 months of age). Most available options are too cognitively demanding for younger children and are focused on movement alone, rather than environmental exploration. The WeeBot addresses the latter, currently unaddressed need: It is hands-free and has a unique control method that can be easily learned by very young children and used to readily interact with objects and people.

   In this Phase I research, we focused on making significant improvements to our research WeeBot device to advance it toward commercial viability. We developed a fully integrated device and added additional safety measures, such as non-contact sensors to slow down the WeeBot as the child approaches an object, a bumper that stops the WeeBot on contact, a remote control to allow an adult to take control of the WeeBot if needed, and an emergency stop button that cuts all power to the WeeBot.

   We also demonstrated the efficacy of our product through a small human subjects study performed by clinicians in the Occupational Therapy department at Quinnipiac University. Ages for the infants tested ranged from 6 mos to 20 mos of age. Of the five children who finished the testing, 3 of the 5 were able to learn to successfully control the robot in all directions and displayed unprompted goal-directed movement of the WeeBot. On the ALP (Assessment of Learning Powered mobility use) scores ranged from 1 (novice) to 7 (proficient.) Feedback from the clinicians was positive, and they provided extensive input and suggestions for future improvement to the device that we intend to incorporate into our next design round.


Last Modified: 09/15/2024
Modified by: Carole Dennis

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