Therapist-Centered Design of Mobile-Controlled NAO Robot for Children’s Autism Therapy
Computer Engineering Department
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental condition that affects communication, social interaction, and behavior. Since children have often been engaged by technology, humanoid robots have been explored in Robot-Assisted Autism Therapy (RAAT). However, existing studies revealed limited attention to therapist needs, particularly regarding usability and interface design. This research adopted a user-centered design (UCD) approach to gather therapist requirements and develop a bilingual Android application that enhanced their interaction with the NAO humanoid robot. Developed with Kotlin, Node.js, and a secure MySQL database hosted on Google Cloud, the system enabled therapists to manage student data, track progress, and control robot lessons and behaviors. A within-subject usability study involving thirteen ASD therapists compared the application with the traditional Choregraphe interface. The proposed system achieved a 99.23 percent task completion rate, an average session time of 14 minutes, a System Usability Scale (SUS) score of 74.6 (above average), and excellent User Experience Questionnaire (UEQ) ratings in attractiveness, dependability, stimulation, and novelty. Overall, the mobile application significantly improved usability, speed, and accuracy, demonstrating its effectiveness. Future work was proposed to explore long-term deployment and integrate text-to-speech and advanced robot interaction features to enhance child engagement.
Supervisor: Dr. Maha Faisal
Co-Supervisor: Dr. Abdullah Al-Mutawa
Convener: Prof. Mehmet Karaata
Examination Committee: Dr. Mohammad Al-Kandari