Design of a Robotic Crib Mobile to Support Studies in the Early Detection of Cerebral Palsy: A Pilot Study

According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, developmental disorders such as Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and Cerebral Palsy (CP) affect nearly one in six children between the ages of 3 to 17 in the United States alone. In order to improve the quality of life for these individuals, there is increased emphasis on providing early intervention at infancy, when key developmental milestones are being achieved. This however requires accurate early detection of motor development delays in at-risk infants. Our research focuses on enabling early detection through the design of a robotic crib mobile that affects infant behavior. Stimuli integrated into the robotic mobile can be used to encourage certain motions such as kicking among infants in order to study infant motor development and identify at-risk populations. In this paper, we propose the design of such a robotic crib mobile and discuss preliminary results from deploying the mobile in the infants’ home environment during a pilot study.